“Isn’t there not enough blood?”
While Han Jaejun and Kang Hyeonjoo were fighting in a way that seemed like joking but wasn’t, Yeon Dogyeong asked Park Gyujin. Park Gyujin was gnawing on his fingernails in front of the well.
“That, that could be it….”
Yeon Dogyeong, who nodded, went near the passage and brought one of the semi-humans lying sprawled. He drew a knife from his waist and made the semi-human lean face-down over the well. He stabbed the semi-human’s neck without hesitation. Gush gush gush, blood poured out. Then the red blood turned black and gathered toward the center of the well. Not long after, the Guimun opened.
“Wow, wow…!”
Park Gyujin, who exclaimed while covering his mouth, looked at Joo Seonghan standing right beside him with a face full of joy. Joo Seonghan said “That’s a relief” while looking down at the black pit. Kang Hyeonjoo, who had roughly finished Han Jaejun’s first aid, also approached the well and let out a hollow laugh while looking at the open Guimun.
“To think we suffered for days to see this….”
“Hyeonjoo, take care of Jaejun. Park Gyujin-ssi and Joo Seonghan-ssi, go in right away.”
At Yeon Dogyeong’s words, Kang Hyeonjoo answered “Yes” and turned his body to go back to Han Jaejun. And he froze.
A semi-human with white hair was quietly looking up at the tower of corpses, having entered at some point. The semi-human, who turned its head, glared at Kang Hyeonjoo fiercely. Kang Hyeonjoo hesitated, and the semi-human looked straight at him and kicked off the ground. At that moment, Han Jaejun, who belatedly noticed the semi-human’s presence, opened his eyes wide and raised his sitting body with all his strength.
“Go quickly!”
Han Jaejun, who shouted roughly, rushed at the semi-human with a horn in the middle of its forehead. Han Jaejun and the semi-human tumbled together on the dirt floor. Yeon Dogyeong, who quickly drew his gun and turned around, aimed at the semi-human. Because they were rolling around, he couldn’t bring himself to shoot, and Kang Hyeonjoo frowned and ran to help Han Jaejun. However, Kang Hyeonjoo couldn’t get close to Han Jaejun. Because the knife drawn from Han Jaejun’s sheath touched Han Jaejun’s neck.
“Kyaak!”
Neither Yeon Dogyeong, nor Kang Hyeonjoo, nor Han Jaejun caught in the semi-human’s hand could move. Park Gyujin and Joo Seonghan, who had stopped near the well, were the same. The horned semi-human, who confirmed the humans couldn’t move, grinned while shining its bright red eyes. Swish, swoosh…. As if it was the first time, the semi-human clumsily gripped the knife, so the blade kept scratching Han Jaejun’s neck. Dark red droplets flowed down Han Jaejun’s neck.
“…Just, go. Why are you looking like that? You’re embarrassing me.”
Han Jaejun smiled. Sniff sniff. The semi-human, who put its nose to Han Jaejun’s cheek and smelled him, dragged Han Jaejun and stepped backward toward the passage where the semi-human corpses were piled.
“Team Leader Yeon.”
Kang Hyeonjoo called Yeon Dogyeong in a low voice. Yeon Dogyeong didn’t answer.
“The Guimun, the Guimun is about to close…!”
In the basement where only the sound of Han Jaejun’s body being dragged could be heard, Park Gyujin’s voice echoed. Yeon Dogyeong opened his mouth without even looking back.
“Go ahead.”
As if he had been waiting for those words, Park Gyujin, who clutched his bag, quickly entered the Guimun. Meanwhile, the semi-human climbed up the corpse tower while holding Han Jaejun in its arms. Blood dripped—drip, drip—from Kang Hyeonjoo’s clenched fist.
“Joo Seonghan-ssi, you go too. You go too.”
“Are you joking?”
“Go. I’ll rescue Jaejun and come back.”
At Yeon Dogyeong’s words, Kang Hyeonjoo bit his lips. Joo Seonghan looked at the horned semi-human and Han Jaejun disappearing beyond the corpse tower, then ran to the fruit trees and plucked two red fruits and eight yellow fruits.
“It had, a horn. It might be stronger than a pregnant semi-human. Let’s go together.”
Kang Hyeonjoo said in a slightly trembling voice.
“Go.”
Yeon Dogyeong, who answered with a smile, ruffled Kang Hyeonjoo’s hair. Kang Hyeonjoo swatted away his hand.
“Even if Team Leader-nim doesn’t take me, I can just go….”
“You’ll be in the way.”
“……”
“You’ll be in the way, so go and take care of Park Gyujin-ssi and Joo Seonghan-ssi. If they fell somewhere strange, that’s troublesome in its own way. Okay?”
“…Team Leader-nim.”
“Hyeonjoo, see you later.”
Click. Yeon Dogyeong said while loading his pistol. Joo Seonghan approached him and put the ten fruits in his hand.
“Just in case.”
Yeon Dogyeong silently looked down at the fruits in his hand. Joo Seonghan added an explanation.
“We opened the Guimun with that and semi-human blood. There might be places to open the Guimun like the well in other places too…. Use them then.”
The probability that Yeon Dogyeong, who went to rescue Han Jaejun, wouldn’t be able to return to this place was high. This place’s foundation was already weakened by several explosions, and the passage was full of semi-human corpses, making it difficult to go in and out. Since there were houses everywhere, the probability that there were also places to open the Guimun everywhere was high. Because Yeon Dogyeong and Han Jaejun were strong, they would surely survive and be able to open another Guimun. He hoped so.
“Thank you.”
Yeon Dogyeong smiled gently. Joo Seonghan looked up at him steadily. Yeon Dogyeong, who chuckled, touched Joo Seonghan’s cheek and turned around. He climbed the tower of semi-human corpses with large strides and entered the passage. Rumble. The basement shook and dust fell from overhead. It was as if the forest was trembling.
“Shit.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who roughly wiped his face, dragged one semi-human corpse over. The Guimun in the well had already closed. While Kang Hyeonjoo stabbed the semi-human’s neck and poured the blood into the well, Joo Seonghan plucked fruits. When he threw the fruits into the well filled with blood, the Guimun opened. Haa. Kang Hyeonjoo, who let out a long sigh with a somewhat pained face, removed the semi-human’s corpse, put his hand into the Guimun, and withdrew it.
“Joo Seonghan-ssi. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who forced a fine expression, sat on the edge of the well and reached out his hand to Joo Seonghan. It seemed he was doing that in case they might fall to different places. Joo Seonghan climbed onto the well and grabbed Kang Hyeonjoo’s hand.
“You… why, are you going?”
“I’ll go.”
As if he didn’t hear the earlier words, Kang Hyeonjoo put his foot in the Guimun. Joo Seonghan couldn’t blink even once and turned his head toward where the unfamiliar voice came from. His eyes met with one semi-human crushed under the corpse tower. Bloody tears flowed from its eyes.
“Why… are you going? Baby, where are you going…? Are you there…? Our….”
Whoop. His arm was pulled. The ground under his feet gave way. He fell as he was.
“Joo Seonghan-ssi! Put strength in your hand!”
With a flustered heart, he flailed without realizing it. Joo Seonghan, who barely came to his senses, gripped Kang Hyeonjoo’s hand tightly. The darkness where nothing could be seen constricted their falling bodies. Light passed by several times between his closed eyes, and thud! He reached the ground.
Kang Hyeonjoo, who couldn’t do a proper breakfall because they fell while holding onto each other, moaned “Ngh” and raised his body. Joo Seonghan also clutched his severely hit knee and raised his face that had been planted in the ground.
“Well well. What’s this. So it was true that the brainless Team 3 was alive. That brat wasn’t lying.”
The owner of the husky voice grabbed Joo Seonghan’s face and lifted it. The strength was so great that his cheek pressed by the fingers hurt.
“Even saved a civilian. Medal-worthy, medal-worthy.”
“Team Leader Go. Let go.”
Kang Hyeonjoo said while grabbing Team Leader Go’s wrist. Team Leader Go, who had been looking into Joo Seonghan’s face, said “Ow ow ow” and exaggerated while letting Joo Seonghan go. Joo Seonghan, who had been holding his breath, rubbed his cheek and looked up at Team Leader Go. He, who seemed to be in his mid-forties, looked messy because of the beard growing haphazardly on his face. He made wrinkles on his cheeks and giggled.
“Hyeonjoo, you son of a bitch. You escaped being the youngest in Team 3 and you’re getting scarier by the day. You keep that up and the boogeyman will get you.”
“Team Leader-nim, don’t pointlessly harass that Hyeonjoo bastard. That bastard’s crazy.”
The woman in a black suit standing beside Team Leader Go said with a unique accent. Kang Hyeonjoo, who let their words go in one ear and out the other, helped Joo Seonghan up. Only then did Joo Seonghan look around.
Unlike inside the Guimun, which had been dusky dawn or evening, it was pitch-black night. The place Joo Seonghan and Kang Hyeonjoo fell was in the middle of a fallow field, and around them only an unpaved single road and a few streetlights could be seen, and on the road beside the field, a car that seemed to have been ridden by Team Leader Go’s group was parked with its headlights on. It smelled musty like manure. The flapping of birds’ wings and the sound of insects could be heard. Joo Seonghan looked up at the sky. A full moon hung high in the jet-black sky. He had returned. From beyond the Guimun.
“The brat who came first already left in our car because he was in such a rush, but are you going right away too? If I knew you’d come this quickly, I would’ve sent you in one car. Those shitty research lab bastards. It’s not like they don’t know the environment here is harsh….”
Team Leader Go scratched his head roughly while rambling. When Team Leader Go and the team members, who heard the news that the Guimun had opened, arrived at this place, only Park Gyujin was there. He, who was trembling, said he had to go to the research lab immediately, showed his employee ID, borrowed a phone, and connected a call directly to the chief researcher.
