Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Zuni
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“Gamal shouldn’t have become a vampire, I think.”
Jain said as she walked down the corridor. It was a sudden remark, but Tora didn’t question it.
“Vampires have an inherent nature. But Matty’s kindness overcame even that nature. If he hadn’t fallen asleep on the island, Matty wouldn’t have survived. He just wasn’t ruthless enough.”
For such a person to be twins with that grand duke—it was another mystery of genetics. At this point, it felt like their mother had given birth to an angel and a demon from the same womb.
“Tora.”
Jain called suddenly, and Tora turned around.
“Want to see Captain Rato?”
“But visiting hours right now…”
Tora started puzzled, then shut her mouth. Instead, she asked,
“Is it okay?”
Jain nodded.
The two headed to the wing where Rato was detained. Naturally, military police stood guard out front.
One of the MPs opened the door. It seemed he’d already been informed.
“We can only let you confirm he’s safe.”
“Understood.”
Tora looked back at Jain and said,
“Thanks.”
Jain gave a slight nod. Tora entered the room.
Rato, sensing someone enter, turned his head. He hadn’t been told Tora was coming, so his face showed slight surprise.
Bandages peeked out from his patient gown, and the bruises on his forehead and lips had mostly faded. His arms were handcuffed to the bed.
“Rato.”
Tora called her twin in a voice thick with emotion. Rato called back in a calmer tone, but equally choked with feeling.
“Tora.”
The two clasped hands like in an arm-wrestling match. Or like something incomplete finding its pair.
Tora pulled Rato into a hug right then. Wrapping one arm around her twin’s shoulder, she said,
“I was worried, you idiot.”
“Sorry.”
Rato’s face showed genuine remorse.
Tora released Rato and let out a sigh.
“You should’ve told me. Ithu was something we built together.”
“I couldn’t leave Matty alone.”
He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then Rato asked,
“The major?”
“He survived.”
Rato asked no more. He looked at Jain with the same red eyes as Tora. Tora introduced her.
“This is Lieutenant Jain Summer. She helped find you.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Rato extended his hand.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Jain shook Rato’s hand lightly, then let go.
Their appearances were nearly identical, but the twins’ gazes were unmistakably different.
And in this situation, one thing was clear: it was fortunate Nika was already dead.
Even after having Tora, she’d still lusted after this one. If they’d met in person, she would’ve taught her firsthand that such insatiable greed was something no human could handle—a direct “lesson.”
“You need to leave now.”
The MP said. Tora wanted to protest that they’d only just arrived, but she’d promised to only confirm he was safe, so she couldn’t argue.
Tora said to Rato,
“Answer whatever they ask, and write whatever they tell you to.”
Then the two stepped out.
“Thank you.”
Jain said suddenly. Tora turned back with a confused look.
“For what?”
“For protecting me.”
Tora let out a wry chuckle.
“You protected me, Lieutenant.”
Honestly, Tora couldn’t deny it. They’d both survived because Jain had followed.
Truth be told, when she’d charged in alone, she’d been confident she could escape on her own. But if things had gone wrong, she wouldn’t have saved Rato—instead, she’d have been captured and killed herself. She’d had no Plan B.
Looking back, it seemed so reckless. Probably because her vision had been clouded by the need to save Rato.
“Without the captain’s help, I couldn’t have even executed that reckless plan.”
Jain looked straight at him.
“I know you kept trying to protect me. That’s why you couldn’t fight at full strength and got hurt even more… Thank you.”
Tora stared at her for a long moment, then said,
“Thanks.”
Now it was Jain’s turn to ask.
“For what?”
“For saying that. It finally feels like I was able to protect someone.”
Tora smiled.
It was a boyish smile. Only then did Jain realize Tora had never truly smiled like that before.
She really couldn’t understand Nika. How she’d loved Rato more, how she could become a murderer and choose suicide while having a man like this.
Tora’s soul was pure and clear. Just like his patroness.
The two stood gazing at each other. Jain spoke first.
“Then… I’ll be going.”
“Yeah.”
Jain gave a slight bow and turned away. Watching her back, Tora started to say something but swallowed it.
He liked this person named Jain Summer. That much was certain.
If she weren’t Jain, he would’ve used every trick to seduce her. Enjoyed their brief time together, then gone their separate ways lightly. As always.
But he had his own code of honor. He didn’t interfere with someone living her life so upright and earnestly, pouring her whole heart and soul into it.
***
“Gamal.”
Yeonha, in uniform, approached Gamal, who was still sitting in front of the ICU.
“You’ve been here two days straight, they say.”
He’d eaten sitting right there, and only dashed out and back for urgent business, like someone being chased.
He really was like a puppy refusing food and water, sitting by the door waiting for its owner until he returned, according to the soldier guarding her.
Gamal nodded.
“Reorganization’s almost done. We’ll see Doyeong soon. Can’t leave my spot.”
Yeonha sat beside him.
A brief silence followed. But it wasn’t heavy. Yeonha gazed at the glass with Gamal, murmuring hopefully.
“I hope the major wakes up soon.”
“He will soon.”
He said it with such certainty, as if someone had told him so. Yeonha smirked.
“What do you think he’ll say first when he wakes?”
“Swear.”
Gamal replied instantly, making Yeonha burst out laughing again.
“You know the major too well. It’s scary.”
“I’ve watched Doyeong closely all this time.”
Gamal stared straight ahead.
“Because I like him… like him so much.”
Yeonha smiled faintly.
“It’s love.”
Gamal didn’t reply. Then the door opened, and the doctor emerged. Gamal shot to his feet.
“Come in.”
As the moment to see Doyeong arrived, Gamal hesitated, looking at Yeonha. She nodded.
Gamal entered the ICU slowly.
In the white, pristine room filled with oddly shaped machines, Doyeong lay straight on the bed. He had a smaller neck brace than before, still connected to all sorts of tubes.
But the wounds from that brutal fight were neatly treated, showing no trace.
Yet something felt off. The man lying there with eyes closed was Doyeong, but not Doyeong. Gamal just felt it, without knowing why.
“Doyeong… right?”
Gamal couldn’t be sure, keeping his eyes fixed on him. The doctor answered from the side.
“His body’s been reorganized. He’s become a Luas.”
The doctor looked at Doyeong too.
“I thought someone with a body as complete as the major’s wouldn’t change much. That was premature.”
Gamal gazed at the serene Doyeong, then climbed onto the bed. The doctor tried to stop him.
“Wait, don’t touch him yet—”
“Let him.”
Yeonha said, so the doctor lowered his hand. Gamal curled up beside Doyeong.
He felt Doyeong’s breathing. Low and gentle.
He gently placed a hand on Doyeong’s left chest. Beneath the firm muscle, a large, powerful heart beat steadily.
Savoring the sound, Gamal closed his eyes.
‘Doyeong’s alive.’
Nothing else mattered.
***
Doyeong opened his eyes.
It was pitch black all around, without a speck of light. It felt like being trapped in a coffin—dark and suffocating. For a while, he couldn’t tell if he was awake or still asleep.
Whirr….
The air conditioner hummed clearly from the ceiling. The room was perfectly comfortable in temperature and humidity.
“Putain….”
Doyeong murmured lowly as he sat up.
Rustle.
The blanket over him slid down.
Looking down at the scattered blanket, he lifted the hand propping him on the bed to touch his neck.
‘My neck….’
Fortunately, it was properly reattached, wrapped in bandages. The fabric’s weave felt unusually fine, and his fingertips caught on its rough, dry texture.
The sensation of the blade embedding in his neck was still vivid. That had been… far from pleasant.
It wasn’t pain—it was like everything being severed by a knife in an instant, all power cutting out. He hated that sensation itself.
His last memory was Gamal’s eyes widening in disbelief at what he was seeing. Nothing after that.
A wireless heart rate pad stuck to his chest, an IV needle in his arm.
His eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing the room’s outline. It looked like a room inside the base.
Beep.
A machine beside him chimed softly. Footsteps approached from outside, the door opened, and light seeped in.
A silhouette appeared at the door.
“Major.”
Then the room lights blazed on. The sudden flood of light stabbed his eyes, making Doyeong squint. They stung especially.
The entrant was a young Black man in a doctor’s coat.
“You’re awake.”
A stranger, no name tag on the coat, but Doyeong could tell at a glance he was military.
“Where am I?”
Doyeong’s voice cracked from disuse. The doctor replied.
“Eastwater Base.”
As if that single word explained everything.
Because Eastwater Base was a secret facility for research, its existence disclosed only to those involved in classified projects.
Doyeong asked,
“Could I see a mirror?”
Come to think of it, his voice was a bit lower.
The doctor nodded, approached, and removed the heart rate pad and IV needle.
“Can you stand?”
Doyeong pushed the blanket aside and set his bare feet on the floor.
Creak.
The bed groaned faintly under his weight as he rose.
He approached the full-length mirror on the wall. It reflected a man in plain white patient clothes, top half-open and loose.
Not Doyeong himself. Similar, so if he had an older brother, it might look like this. Not aged, but more mature.
The man frowned at the mirror, peering closer. Just as Doyeong moved.
‘This is me.’
Doyeong realized.