Kyaaak! The semi-human raised its fist and thrust its freckled face forward. Joo Seonghan squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The gunshot was loud. When he opened his eyes, he could see blood and brain matter bursting from the back of the semi-human’s head. It felt like sounds were growing distant, as if his head was submerged in water from being too rained on. Even the sight of the semi-human falling backward appeared slow. When the semi-human’s back touched the ground, Joo Seonghan exhaled the breath he had been holding. Thwack! Right after that, his body flew. Another semi-human that had been behind the dead semi-human swung its tail and sent Joo Seonghan flying. The tail was large and thick in size. Yes, just like that of now-extinct dinosaurs.
“Kheuk…!”
He fell with a loud sound after hitting a tree trunk. Unable to breathe properly from the pain that felt like his organs were being torn, he curled his body and groaned. He wrapped his arms around his side, which felt like it had been punctured. Blood wasn’t seeping out, but his body convulsed on its own accord, and he couldn’t breathe well. Just then, splash, the sound of unfamiliar footsteps could be heard.
He urgently raised his head. White fur. Should he consider it a rabbit’s? Joo Seonghan left the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth alone and raised his gaze a bit more. Bright red eyes tilted their head and were looking into Joo Seonghan. Joo Seonghan ground his molars. Then he pulled out the knife tucked at his waist and lunged at the semi-human. When he straightened his back, his side hurt as if it would tear, but without stopping, he sat astride the chest of the semi-human who had fallen backward with a thud and raised his knife.
“Hu…man….”
Puhuk! A hole was punctured in the semi-human’s throat. Joo Seonghan, who had cut through the skin and stabbed the knife in, looked down at the semi-human with wide-open eyes. Keuk, keueok…. His eyes met with the semi-human coughing up blood. It felt like he could feel a pulse through the knife handle. Joo Seonghan couldn’t pull out the knife or twist it. As he remained frozen with his mouth open, he felt warmth on his hand. The semi-human covered Joo Seonghan’s hand with a finely trembling hand. His blunt fingertips scratched the back of Joo Seonghan’s hand. Water droplets pooling in the semi-human’s eyes fell down his temple. Joo Seonghan stared at those droplets as if entranced.
Bang!
His body flinched at the sudden gunshot. When he turned his head toward where the sound came from, he saw three semi-humans running this way. They all looked angry.
“Ah….”
Could they perhaps be this semi-human’s family? Bang! Bang! Tik! Two semi-humans fell in succession, and the remaining one was right nearby. He reached out his hand toward Joo Seonghan. Bang! The semi-human who had grazed Joo Seonghan’s hair fell forward with a loud sound. He lowered his eyes. The semi-human who had been shot in the back brought his fingertips to the rabbit semi-human’s face. That scene instantly grew distant.
“Hold onto me.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who had scooped up and lifted Joo Seonghan, said in a low voice and ran quickly. The sound of rain and sporadic gunshots that had grown distant at some point could be heard close to his ears. Joo Seonghan held tightly onto Yeon Dogyeong’s back and shoulders and raised his head. There were many semi-humans chasing from behind. Those with human upper bodies and beast legs made creepy sounds as they ran thump, thump.
Joo Seonghan fumbled at Yeon Dogyeong’s chest. He found a grenade and threw it at the semi-humans. Flesh flew up amid the roar. Joo Seonghan clutched Yeon Dogyeong’s clothes with a hardened face. The situation was too urgent to ask to be put down, and even if he got down and ran together with him, Joo Seonghan would clearly fall behind. Perhaps knowing this, Yeon Dogyeong didn’t let go of Joo Seonghan either and just kept running.
“One more.”
Yeon Dogyeong tucked a grenade into Joo Seonghan’s arms. Joo Seonghan immediately pulled the pin and threw it. Kwang! His back felt chilly. The strength in Yeon Dogyeong’s arms holding Joo Seonghan’s body loosened. What? Before he could even begin to speculate, his body floated. Yeon Dogyeong threw Joo Seonghan into the darkness. Joo Seonghan’s body scraped along the soft dirt ground and slid for a long distance. Thud, Joo Seonghan, who stopped after hitting a rock, sat up while waving away the dust obstructing his vision with his hand. Yeon Dogyeong, standing at the cave entrance, was firing bullets at the semi-humans. The loud gunfire hit the cave walls and echoed noisily.
“Ah, there really are a lot.”
The gunfire stopped, and Yeon Dogyeong, who muttered quietly, reached toward his lower back and took something out to light it. Yeon Dogyeong, who held explosives with a long fuse in his hand, retreated into the cave while taking out his pistol. Bang! Bang! He shot the upper part of the cave with his gun. When the fourth gunshot was heard, pebbles fell pitter-patter from the cave ceiling, and the semi-humans’ cries grew much closer. Yeon Dogyeong threw the dynamite right below the weakened ceiling, turned around, and ran. In other words, toward Joo Seonghan.
Joo Seonghan, who had a blank expression, hurriedly got up. Yeon Dogyeong, who smiled with a pik, grabbed Joo Seonghan’s arm and ran into the cave. Kwagwang! The explosives burst with a roar. The cave ceiling collapsed mercilessly, and the light and sound of rain that had been coming in thinly disappeared without a trace. The entrance was completely blocked. Tik, tik…. One small pebble that had lost its way wandered alone inside the cave that had grown quiet.
Whether he closed or opened his eyes, there was no change to his vision. In the pitch-black darkness, the only thing Joo Seonghan could rely on was Yeon Dogyeong’s hand gripping his arm. If he let go of his hand, Joo Seonghan would be alone. At the fear creeping in, Joo Seonghan clutched Yeon Dogyeong’s hem. He could feel breath. As he put all his strength into his hand and blinked his eyes meaninglessly, a clear sound rang out. And light appeared. Yeon Dogyeong, who had lit a zippo lighter, was looking down at Joo Seonghan and smiling. The strength in Joo Seonghan’s hand loosened a bit.
“Team… Team Leader Yeon.”
“Yes.”
“Are we, trapped?”
“Yes, well. But we’ll probably be able to get out. Park Gyujin-ssi said there’s a path this way too.”
Joo Seonghan nodded while feeling his heart beating hotly. The nodding that had been slow gradually became faster. He was confused. His head understood the situation up until now, but his body couldn’t accept it. Joo Seonghan, who forcibly stopped his head by biting his lips hard, continued his thoughts step by step to calm down. It rained, they changed direction toward where the fruit trees were, a semi-human appeared, they ran while shooting, then he was hit by a semi-human and flew far away, and there he stabbed with a knife the semi-human he encountered….
“Joo Seonghan-ssi.”
“……”
“Let’s rest for now.”
The cave made even small sounds seem loud. When his voice, which resonated lowly, vibrated in his ear, the breathing he had forgotten began to find its place. Joo Seonghan stuck out his tongue and moistened his dry lips. And he answered “Yes” to Yeon Dogyeong, who had waited until he felt reassured.
* * *
Drip, drip. The IV fluid fell. The Research Director, who crossed the small laboratory spewing out various machine sounds, filled a syringe with red medicine. He wrote down the amount of medicine and time by hand on a chart and approached the bed placed in the middle of the laboratory. On the bed, a semi-human with all four limbs bound was closing their eyes as if fallen into a deep sleep.
The Research Director, who reduced the IV fluid administration speed, gently stroked the semi-human’s legs. It was a deer. The lower body of the lying semi-human was a deer, and it even had a short tail, which was rare. And if he put his hand into the hair, he could also feel small antlers. Beep beep. The Research Director’s wristwatch made a sound. He inserted the needle of the syringe he was holding into the semi-human’s arm. Injection marks were densely packed all over the semi-human’s body.
[Authenticated.]
An announcement came from the laboratory locking device. The thick iron door opened, and Chief Lee entered.
“Are you already done?”
Chief Lee, who approached while fixing her disheveled hair, asked while looking down at the sleeping semi-human. The Research Director pulled out the needle and pushed up his glasses. The graphs and numbers in the machine connected to the semi-human changed.
“51A is a failure. Let’s conclude this side now.”
“This side? Are you talking about 22A?”
Chief Lee asked while alternately looking at the syringe in the Research Director’s hand and the numbers in the machine. The Research Director, who left the bedside, answered “Yes” and went to the desk to fill out a chart and handed it to Chief Lee.
“The values are within the margin of error and it’s the same reaction as last time. What about 22B?”
“22B is the same. Not much different from last time.”
Chief Lee, who had been scanning the chart, took out a USB from her lab coat and plugged it into the computer. The Research Director, who approached her side, grabbed the mouse.
They had been conducting Experiment 22 for several years, regularly administering red fruit to Test Subjects A and B. It was an experiment regarding the hypothesis that the fruit was the semi-humans’ food supply.
It was five years ago that the Research Director first discovered the red fruit. He found several undamaged fruits in a dead semi-human’s stomach, and they didn’t exist in this world. Even when he crushed, burned, or soaked the fruit in chemicals, he couldn’t figure out what it was. The Research Director, who had to be cautious because the amount he could obtain was small, secretly brought plant-related talents to the laboratory to analyze the fruit.
Though they haven’t clearly figured it out to this day, three years ago, the research team succeeded in cultivating the red fruit. Currently, ten short trees bearing red fruit were growing in the laboratory’s secret botanical garden. The Research Director and Chief Lee conducted Experiment 22 with the fruit from there, and now it was time to draw a conclusion.
“When administered, their mind became clearer and organ activity became more active. As you said, the values are also within the margin of error.”
Chief Lee said while pointing at the monitor. The fact that predictable results continued to come out meant it was correct to view the unknown red fruit as the semi-humans’ food supply. In the first place, the only thing the semi-human’s body accepted was that fruit. When they captured Test Subject B and administered human food to him, his body rejected all food, with bodily functions declining and such. Though it was too early to consider it the only thing, it was certain that the red fruit was necessary for semi-humans to survive. Finding out the beasts’ essential food supply was important work. In taming them.
“Did the Guimun open an hour ago?”
The Research Director asked Chief Lee while opening a new file and writing a document. An hour ago, the Research Director had conducted Experiment 51 on Test Subject A, a deer semi-human. Though he couldn’t know precisely whether there was a correlation or not, the Guimun tended to open when he experimented on Test Subject A. It wasn’t a Guimun that the Research Director had deliberately opened.
