14
Chapter 14
Everything is blurry. Only the taser gun, half-submerged in a pool of blood and sparking with blue lightning, remains clear in my vision.
'The blue snake...'
Lee Yeon-woo's thoughts drifted in and out, fragmented and chaotic.
'A snake like lightning, lightning like a snake. An Anomaly that looks like a human. A human that looks like an Anomaly. In the end, just an Anomaly.'
He briefly watched the two Anomaly Entities still fighting and screaming. They looked like people, raged like people, and gestured like people, but they were Anomalies.
Specifically, the Anomalies that caused this horrific massacre.
'I have to take them out.'
To survive.
For revenge.
For myself.
Clutching the taser gun as his hand soaked in blood, Lee Yeon-woo realized.
'What a strange world. A safe and comfortable life is simply impossible.'
It wasn't just about corporate life. Life itself is like that. Strange things lurk in the shadows of the world, ready to show their malice at any moment. Just as those Anomalies slaughtered the laboratory staff one night.
'To live in a world this strange...'
Click—
A trembling hand aimed precisely at the back of the Director's head. Across from him, Leonardo, who had been pointing and shouting, widened his eyes. A scream erupted from his hastily opened mouth.
"Mister, get out of the—"
'I'll have to become a strange person myself.'
Firing.
Flash—
A burst of light. A blue snake lunged forward in an instant, fiercely coiling around the Director. The Director's entire body convulsed as he flopped over to the side. Surprisingly, even with his tongue paralyzed, the Director struggled desperately to speak.
"Reeeek! Reee! Deuugh! Reek! Aaaaek! Ruuueeek! Dee! Eeeeek!"
Lee Yeon-woo looked down at the sight and slowly turned his head toward Leonardo. The taser gun was now aimed at him. A bead of cold sweat rolled down Leonardo's forehead.
"I didn't expect it to go this way. Look, everyone. If you surrender—"
Click—
He pulled the trigger, but the blue snake didn't appear. It seemed there was only one snake per taser gun.
The startled Leonardo suddenly smiled. His hand moved onto the guitar strings. As his fingers danced across the strings, an ecstatic melody filled the Empty Lot.
"Now, the first piece! Leonardo of 21st Century Seoul!"
Art that moves the world, and thus is favored by the world, and thereby moves the world. Among that, Leonardo's song—a song that leads people into a state of euphoria—began to flow.
Mouths hung open and saliva dripped. Eyes widened, and minds grew hazy. Souls were dyed with joy and rapture. How could such a song exist in this world—
Just then, Doctor Kim shouted urgently.
"Wait! Stop!"
The song did not stop.
"I'll let you go, just stop!"
Crunch—
Doctor Kim bit his own finger to stay conscious and pointed toward the casualties wounded by the ninja's blade. Many had died, but many were also injured. They were people who could still be saved.
"If these people hear your song now, they'll all die! Stop so we can perform first aid! If you don't stop immediately, I will raise your hostility level!"
"...I can't do that. Then is it a real promise? I stop here, and you let me go."
"Yes, so please, stop quickly."
"The hostility level is also a real, real promise—"
He continued to pluck the guitar strings, but he stopped singing. Leonardo and Doctor Kim both spoke desperately. Their lives depended on it.
And so, the existence of Lee Yeon-woo was completely wiped from Leonardo's mind.
Drip— drip—
Drops of blood fell from Lee Yeon-woo's chin. His front teeth and canines dug brutally into his lower lip. Even so, his mind was being drawn toward a heavenly void, causing him to bite through his upper lip as well.
Crunch—
Pain and euphoria collided in his head. In the gap between them, he barely managed to hold onto his train of thought.
'Two guards at the main gate. Two taser guns. Two snakes. I used one, and the other is... right there.'
The other guard was also dead. A holster and a taser gun lay on the ground.
"Then, I'll stop playing once I've safely reached the main gate."
"Hurry up! Run! There's no time!"
"No, does running while playing guitar make any sense? That's not stylish at all—"
He pulled the sparking taser gun from the holster and aimed.
Firing. A flash.
"You better keep your prooomiiiiiiise! Ooooook!"
Ding, dedeng, ding—
His fingers lost control and struck the strings haphazardly. It was no longer music. The euphoria slowly receded. To make matters worse, Leonardo tripped forward, his snout slamming into the dirt.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Doctor Kim and Lee Yeon-woo's eyes met. Doctor Kim gave a thumbs-up.
"Well done. Thanks to you, we saved a bit more time."
"It was nothing."
Having adapted to this strange world, Lee Yeon-woo silently shook his head.
***
Everything that followed happened quickly.
Employees were shocked by the massacre. On top of that, Leonardo's song had washed over them. He slapped the cheeks of those who had completely lost themselves to wake them up, prioritizing the medical staff needed immediately.
The medical staff, with bruised cheeks, rushed around, beginning emergency treatment starting with those who could be saved, and among them, those with the most critical injuries.
On one side of the Empty Lot, security staff glared at the two intruders with menacing eyes, keeping watch to ensure they didn't try anything foolish.
"These guys are psychos. They're trying to do something even while caught by the snakes."
Lee Yeon-woo and Doctor Kim stood with the security staff, looking down at the two intruders.
The Director writhed, trying to shout "Ready, Action!", and Leonardo was trying to turn his screams into a song by adding notes to his shrieks.
Every time they did, a barrage of clubs rained down on them.
"You bastards! Stay still!"
"Die! Die! Die!"
"Hey, stop! Don't kill them! Drag this jerk out!"
Expandable batons, made of non-conductive material, were swung without mercy. They struck heads, chests, arms, waists, and legs indiscriminately. Bruises bloomed across bodies already ravaged by the blue snakes.
A researcher approached them.
With a pale, deathly complexion, the researcher spoke to Doctor Kim in a gloomy voice.
"Temporary containment measures are ready."
"Explain them to me."
"We suspect the sounds coming from the mouths of both Anomaly Entities are the starting points of their anomalous phenomena. Therefore, we will gag them. As for the singer, we'll restrain his hands as well."
"And?"
"Since we aren't entirely certain, we will additionally administer sleeping pills and sedatives to keep them unconscious. If they wake up, we've prepared a device to let the snakes bite again."
"I understand. Let's do that for now."
Doctor Kim nodded.
With the help of the security staff, the researcher dragged the two intruders deep into the basement of the three-story building.
Realizing this, the two intruders struggled. They convulsed violently, twisting their bodies and opening their mouths, trying desperately to trigger an Anomaly. The security staff, as if they'd found the perfect excuse, struck them with the expandable batons.
Whack— thud— crack—
"Ggguh! Rek! Guk! Dik!"
"Aaaaaah! Aaah! Aaaaaah!"
"Still won't stay still, will you? Keep hitting them! Beat them until they can't even moan!"
A brutal scene where one wouldn't even notice if two people died. Doctor Kim didn't bother to stop it.
Watching silently, Lee Yeon-woo asked.
"What will happen to those Anomaly Entities now?"
"Who knows. The singer will be managed by our laboratory, but I'm not sure about the Director. The Korea Branch or Headquarters will decide."
Doctor Kim spoke in a voice stripped of emotion. However, his tightly clenched fists showed no sign of loosening.
"They might use him to negotiate with the Association of Free Artists, or use him to study reality manipulation. They won't kill him."
"I see."
An unfair treatment, if it could be called that. But Lee Yeon-woo accepted it calmly.
It was a strange world. A world of Anomalies. To live in such a world, wouldn't it be easier to be an Anomaly than a human?
The Empty Lot where the tragedy occurred.
Several surviving employees moved busily to collect the bodies of their colleagues. Faint sunlight filtered down onto the lot, which was soaked in deep red blood. The morning of the final day of training had arrived.
Lee Yeon-woo greeted the morning as one of the people of this strange world.
***
The final day of the seven-day training.
There was no graduation ceremony to celebrate the successful completion of the training. The situation didn't allow for it. The three new employees and Doctor Kim simply decided to exchange brief farewells.
Since the infirmary couldn't accommodate all the patients, the dormitory had been transformed into an eight-bed ward.
Near the bed of Lee Seo-yeon, who had lost her left leg, Lee Yeon-woo, Kang Yeol, and Doctor Kim gathered.
None of them looked well, as they hadn't even had time to sleep. Doctor Kim's dark circles had deepened further. Flipping through a few documents with fingers wrapped in gauze, he began to mutter as if talking to himself.
"New employees, your seven-day training has ended safely... ah, there's no need to read this part."
Doctor Kim brushed the papers aside and made eye contact with each of the new employees.
Kang Yeol, whose arm was in a cast.
Lee Seo-yeon, lying in bed after losing her leg.
Lee Yeon-woo, wearing clothes slashed by a blade.
As if they had changed into different people in just one day, they looked back at Doctor Kim with eyes fitting for employees.
"I've reported yesterday's attack to the Korea Branch and Headquarters. Other details aren't important, but this is. The assignments and positions for Mr. Kang Yeol and Ms. Lee Seo-yeon have changed slightly. Orders came down from above."
"How have they changed?"
Lee Seo-yeon asked weakly. She looked worried that her employment might be canceled because she lost her leg.
"Ms. Lee Seo-yeon. Korea Branch, Intelligence Department. Mr. Kang Yeol. Korea Branch, Special Task Force."
"Intelligence Department!"
For a moment, Lee Seo-yeon rejoiced like a child. As if forgetting her missing leg, color returned to her face.
On the other hand, Kang Yeol looked puzzled.
"What kind of unit is the Special Task Force?"
"I don't know. Both the Intelligence Department and the Special Task Force have specific departments under them; I'm not in a position to know where exactly you'll go."
Unable to get the information he wanted, Kang Yeol stroked his chin with his healthy hand. He wore an ambiguous expression.
"And, Mr. Lee Yeon-woo."
"Yes."
"Mr. Lee Yeon-woo will remain in the Anomaly Investigation Unit. However, you played the most significant role in capturing the Director and Leonardo da Seoul."
Lee Yeon-woo nodded nonchalantly. He didn't feel like he had done anything great. He had simply held a taser gun and shot an unsuspecting enemy.
Doctor Kim took another look at Lee Yeon-woo, scanning him from head to toe.
"Regardless, credit and rewards will be given to Mr. Lee Yeon-woo."
"What kind of reward...?"
"Money, obviously."
Lee Yeon-woo gave a faint smile. No matter how strange the world became, money was still the universal truth.
Doctor Kim gave his final words to Lee Yeon-woo.
"Mr. Lee Yeon-woo, please report for duty as soon as you are contacted by the Anomaly Investigation Unit. Mr. Kang Yeol and Ms. Lee Seo-yeon, focus on finishing your treatment first. Well then, good work everyone."
With that, Doctor Kim concluded his speech.
The time to part had come. Lee Yeon-woo gave a polite bow to Doctor Kim, Kang Yeol, and Lee Seo-yeon.
"I'll be heading out now."
"You'll do well wherever you go, Mr. Lee Yeon-woo. And though it's late, thank you for capturing the Director."
"See you later, Lee Yeon-woo!"
"Take care."
Leaving the greetings behind, he walked out of the ward. Busy medical staff and somber-faced patients passed him by.
Thus, Lee Yeon-woo left the Baekbeom Culture Research Institute. He left the two-story building, passed through the main gate guarded by security staff, and walked along the dirt path to the Jungsangol bus stop.
***
6. Epilogue
A bus came to a rattling, labored halt. Lee Yeon-woo boarded the bus, took a window seat, and looked back toward the Baekbeom Culture Research Institute. His eyes were calm and settled.
The bus drove along the winding mountain road.
Caption: Thus, the Baekbeom Culture Research Institute recovered two artists, and the Humanity Protection Company prevented a national-level catastrophe caused by a large-scale anomaly leak.
The white letters 'The End' appeared on the screen.
***
CAST
Lee Yeon-woo as Lee Yeon-woo
Lee Seo-yeon as Lee Seo-yeon
Kang Yeol as Kang Yeol
Doctor Kim as Kim Hye-ji
Director as Mill Madison
Leonardo da Seoul as Park Leonardo
Ninja as But Suddenly a Ninja
Lab Employee 1 as Kim So-hong
Lab Employee 2 as Choi Yu-jin
Lab Employee 3 as Park Sang-ha
Security Staff 1 as Shin Eutteum
Security Staff 2 as Bae Jun-yong
Security Staff 3 as Jo Gang-min
Blue Lightning Snake 1 as Watt
Blue Lightning Snake 2 as Parang-i
STAFF
Screenplay: Author
Production: Humanity Protection Company
Provided by: Pret-a-Porter, Chocobo, Phobos, Jun-young, Pitchblende, Two-Fun-Man, Sagang Sagang, Dadaman, was yea ra, Give Me Food, Outer God l, Alopecia Cure Shave, 1h2q3p, Apple_513, Completed, 00 inch, Happy Microbe, Changganjinam, Creation, Hyunjin 57, High-Top-Yeah, preeded, Good Omen, Wingy, World Eater.
This work is a piece of fiction. All characters, organizations, and locations featured are entirely unrelated to any real-world entities.