Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: What Have You Done to Me?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*Clang.* A heavy, metallic sound echoed through the safe house's basement.
Juyeol set down a barbell twice his body weight on the bench press and sat up, catching his breath.
As he kept increasing the intensity of his workouts, he’d reached a point where anything under 200kg just didn’t cut it anymore.
After days of fighting Villains all over the city, just loitering around the safe house was making him restless.
‘…Dammit.’
He slammed the towel he was using to wipe his sweat onto the floor.
In truth, it wasn’t just restlessness. He needed time to not think about anything.
His frustrated gaze fell on the crumpled towel. It reminded him of the blanket someone used to curl up and sleep in.
Why wasn’t she coming? So suddenly, without a word.
Was it because she was making Potions, like Chaser said? Or had she finally come to her senses and gotten back together with Nova?
He had so many questions, but he couldn't contact Haon.
What excuse could he possibly use to call her? If he asked why she hadn’t come, wouldn’t that be the same as admitting he was waiting for her?
He didn’t feel refreshed even after a shower, and downing cold water did nothing to quench the frustration inside him.
Juyeol collapsed onto the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling. The bullet holes, which hadn’t increased for a while, had multiplied into a messy pattern.
After the kid who used to tag along at every opportunity suddenly stopped showing up, the sense of emptiness began to torment him again.
Even while letting Haon into his safe house, Juyeol had vehemently denied the possibility, but he was slowly being forced to admit it.
It was Eun Haon who had been filling his void.
As Haon’s visits became more frequent, he no longer had to wonder, ‘What should I do?’
He found himself curious about what ingredients she would bring this time and what she would ask him to cook, even looking up recipes for dishes he had never made before.
It wasn't enough to stock up on a wider variety of basic spices and seasonings; he’d even bought new dishes to replace the ones Haon had broken while stubbornly insisting on doing the dishes herself.
But as the days she didn’t come stretched on, he was once again faced with the question of what to do with his time.
He had grown so used to having Eun Haon around that, if anything, he felt even more empty and hollow than before.
He would think about the locked fifth-floor lab, wonder if she had really created and distributed the Awakening drug, and then find himself sitting here again, just staring into space.
He let out a dry, incredulous laugh at his own pathetic state and slumped forward. He couldn't tell what kind of expression was on his face, buried in his palms.
‘What the hell have you done to me?’
His large frame, which never looked clumsy thanks to his long limbs, seemed to crumple in the darkness.
‘Why did it have to be her?’
He didn’t know what this feeling was, but it was all because of Eun Haon.
And he felt like he would understand if he could just meet those warm, brown eyes one more time.
Why he was like this. What on earth he was supposed to do.
As that thought crossed his mind, Juyeol lifted his head.
With a destination set, the blankness in his expression vanished, his gaze growing sharper.
He shot to his feet, strode into the kitchen, and grabbed the first thing he saw—the toaster—and hurled it.
With a loud crash, the toaster broke apart, its dented frame tumbling wretchedly across the floor.
Gazing at it dispassionately, he tucked the broken appliance under his arm and left the safe house.
‘It’s not weird to go ask an engineer for a repair, right?’
Whether she’d made the Awakening drug or not was a problem for later.
If he didn’t sort out his complicated thoughts right now, he felt like his head would either explode or he would be swallowed by the darkness.
He swung himself onto his bike and headed out of the garage, only to find someone blocking his path as if they’d been waiting.
“Hyung. Where are you going?”
Juyeol’s brow furrowed deeply when he saw Chaser’s anxious face.
“Are you spying on me now? Did Headquarters order you to watch me?”
“You’re not going to see Dr. Eun, are you?”
“None of your business.”
“It would be better if you didn’t go.”
Juyeol was about to ignore him and leave when a sudden thought made his eyes flash as he turned back.
“Are the Heroes there?”
“…”
“Who’s there?”
“River, Finder, and Bell. Hunter is there too. So going there will only cause you trouble.”
Before Chaser could even finish his sentence, the bike roared to life.
It was obvious why the Heroes were at the lab. It had to be because of the Awakening drug.
“Hyung! You’ll just get more disciplinary action!”
“How many times do I have to tell you I’ve quit being a Hero?”
Juyeol swerved past Chaser by a hair’s breadth. He heard Chaser calling out desperately from behind, but he was in a hurry and paid it no mind.
* * *
Arriving at the lab after a high-speed ride, he found it just as he remembered.
The heavy door, like an airplane entrance, and Blue’s cheerful voice welcoming him.
“Juyeol! Welcome!”
And Eun Haon, who smiled brightly, her face practically dripping with delight at the sight of him.
He thought he’d grown used to those brown eyes filled with goodwill and affection, but seeing them after so long, they felt foreign.
Just as he was wondering about the slight tickle in his chest, he saw Haon try to approach him, only to be held back.
A surge of irritation shot through him at the sight of her shoulders slumping, intimidated after River said a few words to her.
‘How much did they grill her?’
Juyeol ignored the stunned Heroes and walked over, turning Haon to face him.
“Hey. Can you fix something for me right now?”
At his question, asked without so much as a greeting as he held up the toaster, Haon’s eyes widened, and she nodded.
Seeing her bloodshot eyes, it seemed she hadn’t found someone else to stay by her side until she fell asleep.
A strange sense of satisfaction briefly loosened the corners of his mouth.
“Huh, why am I…”
Suddenly, Haon collapsed weakly.
“What the—? Hey. Eun Haon!”
As her thin, light body went limp in his arms, he finally noticed the bloodstain on her lab coat.
Juyeol felt the blood drain from his face as he shot a sharp glare at River.
“What did you do to get her in this state?”
“Are you talking to me? I didn’t do anything! Isn’t she just pretending to be unconscious!”
As River reached out with an aggrieved expression, Juyeol pulled Haon into his arms and stepped back. The toaster fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
“You, what are you doing—?”
“Hey! Are you crazy?”
He was in too much of a hurry to respond to the Heroes’ shocked cries.
He had to do something, quickly. Before she disappeared from his arms like a pile of ash.
Ignoring them, Juyeol scooped Haon up and headed for the elevator.
If he took her to a hospital, the Heroes would surely surround the room. He had to go up to the penthouse and call a doctor.
“Ghost.”
He saw Hunter sigh and press a hand to her forehead, but he kept walking.
“Woo Juyeol!”
He paused at the sound of his full name.
He turned back, holding Haon protectively.
Hunter looked from Haon’s pale face to Juyeol, then spoke as if she’d made a decision.
“Your disciplinary period is almost over. Try to keep it together until then. I’ll let you into the First Archive when you return.”
“You already found the culprit, so what are you trying to show me now?”
“Let’s just say there’s something you need to see.”
Juyeol narrowed his eyes at Hunter’s cryptic answer.
“When Dr. Eun wakes up, tell her to send the prototype your way.”
“What’s that supposed to—”
“She’ll know what it means. You just focus on getting ready to come back.”
I told you I quit being a Hero.
Even after Hunter turned away with the other Heroes, he couldn't bring himself to spit out the words rolling around in his mouth.
Hunter’s words had a strange, significant weight to them that left him feeling unsettled.
* * *
Opening the refrigerator, Juyeol couldn’t help but sigh.
The only things inside were two expired triangle kimbap.
‘Did she even eat anything?’
Exasperated, Juyeol closed the refrigerator door and returned to the living room.
Solmae, who had finished his examination, stood beside the sofa where Haon lay, a sour expression on his face.
“How is she?”
“Sleep deprivation, overwork, stress. It’s a wonder she didn’t collapse sooner.”
“She wasn’t attacked by anyone?”
“Nope.”
Perhaps because he had known him since he was a child, Solmae paid no mind to Juyeol’s rude way of speaking.
Or maybe he had just grown numb after living so long in the Old District, where all sorts of insolent characters ran rampant.
As if he had anticipated Haon’s condition, the doctor took out a glucose IV and set it up.
He seemed quite accustomed to using a floor lamp as a makeshift IV stand.
“Is she going to be okay? What should I do?”
“Let her get plenty of sleep. When the IV bag is empty, you take it out. The moment she opens her eyes, feed her. And make sure she takes some medicine for body aches and a cold.”
“Is that all?”
“And stop ordering this old man around. My knees are going to wear out.”
The tall, sturdy Solmae grumbled as he packed his bag.
It was the first time Juyeol had ever summoned Solmae outside the Old District, which he found odd, but he didn't argue.
After the unlicensed doctor left, he perched on the armrest of the sofa and gazed down at Haon’s face.
Her cheeks, flushed with fever, and her eyelashes, which trembled intermittently.
Her lips, murmuring slightly as if she were dreaming.
The line of her slender nape connected to her youthful face felt somehow incongruous.
It bothered and irked him, like seeing something too strange to ignore.
‘Why does she look like that?’
Juyeol tried to recall what Dr. Eun Haon had originally looked like.
Brown bobbed hair, brown eyes. A fluffy fur coat that made it hard to guess her build, and high heels.
And…?