“Haeju, are you okay?”
As Yeojin carefully asked while stroking Haeju’s shoulders and arms, the boy lifted his head. He was trembling in fear, looking around with tear-filled eyes. Just as Yeojin was about to embrace the poor boy who was shaking so pitifully, the sound of a gun being cocked rang out right next to his ear—click.
“Ah!”
Haeju flinched and hid behind Yeojin’s body. Major Park was aiming a pistol at Yeojin’s temple.
“That’s enough. You can be arrested on the spot for obstruction of official duty.”
“Then I’ll report you for excessive force.”
Major Park snorted and shouted at the soldiers.
“What are you doing? Who told you to lower your guns? Drag Seo Haeju out right now!”
At their superior’s thunderous command, the soldiers jumped in surprise and resumed their actions. They subdued Seo Haeju again and dragged him out like a prisoner.
“Doctor! Doctor!”
As Haeju struggled while crying, the soldiers kicked him with their boots. Seeing Haeju getting beaten one-sidedly made Yeojin’s vision turn red.
“Don’t!”
As he shouted and tried to rush forward, Major Park struck Yeojin’s head with the hand holding the gun. He staggered greatly from the strong impact and collapsed to the floor. His consciousness grew hazy.
“Doctor!”
Haeju cried out, and Major Park coldly ordered.
“Drag Seo Haeju out and isolate this bastard separately. He’s a dangerous person with rebel tendencies.”
This bastard is really pushing it. Yeojin grabbed and clung to the pant leg of Major Park, who was putting away his gun and turning around.
“Can’t go. Haeju, can’t take him.”
Major Park showed no mercy, raising his leg to shake Yeojin off and then kicking him with his military boots. Yeojin curled his body up as much as possible and blocked the merciless barrage of kicks. Crazy bastard. No matter how I think about it, he’s lost his mind. A soldier beating a civilian? This was truly outrageous.
“Don’t! Don’t hit our doctor!”
Haeju’s wailing cry echoed throughout. As he struggled desperately while screaming, the sounds of more beatings followed—thwack, thud.
“I said don’t hit the doctor!”
At Haeju’s anguished cry, the surrounding air vibrated. It wasn’t an illusion. The entire air truly rippled greatly. Not just the air, but the entire room vibrated and the furniture rattled and shook with clattering sounds.
Then a loud noise came from outside the window that had been blocked to prevent the quarantined from escaping. The sound of something sharp and hard hammering at the wooden boards covering the window, the fluttering of wings, the cawing of birds. The wooden boards began to split, and light leaked in through the broken gaps—whatever was outside the window.
The soldiers stirred uneasily, and Major Park’s kicking stopped.
“What the hell?”
The moment Major Park opened his mouth, the ceiling light suddenly burst with a pop. Starting with that, the desk, chairs, lamp, pillow, and bed mattress exploded in succession as if they’d been bombarded.
“Ahhh!”
“Gyaaaah!”
What followed were the soldiers’ screams. The soldiers’ arms and legs bent, twisted, and snapped like taffy. An invisible tremendous force crushed, twisted, broke, and destroyed their limbs.
“Urk!”
Major Park was no exception. His leg broke with a crack, and Major Park let out a short scream and collapsed. In an instant, the room turned into a scene of pandemonium. The soldiers rolled on the floor like broken dolls.
It was complete chaos. Yeojin couldn’t even think of getting up and just stared blankly at the scene while lying on the floor. He couldn’t even gauge what had happened. All Yeojin could see was only Seo Haeju.
Only the boy stood alone in the scene of pandemonium, panting for breath. The bird cries outside the window and the sounds of pecking at the wooden walls grew louder.
Even seeing it right before his eyes, he couldn’t believe it. He wondered if he was dreaming with his eyes open.
Did Haeju do all that? But Haeju should also have the ability control device chip inserted, shouldn’t he?
“Haeju.”
When he barely managed to call the boy’s name, Haeju contorted his ruined face.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorryyy.”
Tears streamed down from the boy’s eyes. The boy twisted his entire face and sobbed while shedding tears profusely.
“Huuuung. I’m sorry. Doctor. Don’t, don’t hate me. Don’t hate me. Don’t hate me.”
Then Yeojin saw one of the soldiers raising a trembling hand to aim a gun at Haeju.
“Haeju!”
Along with Yeojin’s cry, Haeju turned his head toward the soldier, and the gun-holding soldier’s hand snapped sharply in the opposite direction. A piercing scream echoed everywhere. Soon the wooden wall that had started to crack completely broke apart, and a flock of crows flew in through the gap. Caw caw, making sharp cries and flapping their large black wings, they all flew in at once.
Everywhere was filled with black. It felt as if a massive darkness had swept in. Obscured by the birds’ wings, he couldn’t see an inch ahead. Among the crow cries, the soldiers’ screams could be heard. The birds were clearly attacking the soldiers.
“Haeju. Seo Haeju! No. Don’t do that. Stop! You can’t do this! You can’t hurt people! The doctor will get angry. I’ll get angry, really!”
Yeojin shouted whatever came out and barely managed to get up. He tried to approach Seo Haeju while waving his hands to chase away the birds blocking his way. Then some of the birds started attacking Yeojin. Haeju could be seen through the birds. The boy was crying like a child with a bloodied face, calling for Yeojin.
“Doctor.”
Help me, Doctor. The boy seemed to be pleading like that.
It’s okay. Don’t be scared. Don’t cry. The doctor will save you!
At that moment, a giant crow flew toward Yeojin’s face. Yeojin tried to avoid the bird but fell backward, hitting the back of his head on the floor and losing consciousness.
***
“Huuuk, huk. Hukhuk.”
He heard someone crying miserably. It was a space shrouded in pitch-black darkness on all sides. In a world of blackness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, only someone’s crying echoed sadly.
“Doctor. Doctor.”
It was Haeju’s voice. Yeojin hurriedly looked around.
“Haeju! Where are you? The doctor is here!”
“Doctor. I’m scared. It hurts.”
He couldn’t see anything, but Haeju’s pitiful voice could be heard. The image of Haeju curled up tightly with his large body, trembling and crying, appeared before his eyes. He wanted to run over right away and hug Haeju. He had to hold the boy and pat his back to comfort him.
“Haeju. Don’t cry. Don’t be scared. You have the doctor. The doctor will protect you.”
“Doctor, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”
“No. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”
Only the sound of Haeju sobbing echoed everywhere. Yeojin felt his heart breaking. His heart ached so much he couldn’t bear it.
Four months ago, on the day of the vehicle accident. During the transfer to the Seoul Temporary Quarantine Center in an ambulance, Haeju, who had been unconscious, had a crazy seizure as soon as he opened his eyes. Fortunately, when Yeojin threw his whole body and desperately hugged Haeju to calm him down, he stopped the seizure and began to cry his heart out.
Yeojin had never heard someone sob so desperately before. It sounded just like a beast’s howl. A child who had lost all his beloved family in an instant and was left alone, squeezing out his internal organs and bursting forth with blood-boiling tears.
“Huuuuung, huuuung! I’m sorry. It’s my fault. It’s my fault. I’m sorry!”
While holding Haeju in his arms as he burst into heart-wrenching tears, Yeojin cried together with him. Since he too had the experience of losing his only family, his younger brother, and suffering while blaming himself, hot tears poured out.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Haeju. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Yeojin kept whispering while stroking Haeju’s back, arms, and head. He repeated over and over what he had wished someone would have said to him when he lost his only family, his younger brother.
Even now, like back then, he had to tell Haeju, who would be trembling while tightly embraced by two arms with his large body.
That it’s okay. That it’s not his fault. That it’s not his fault.
Yeojin looked in the direction where the crying could be heard and squeezed out his voice.
“I’m sorry, Haeju.”
Yeojin’s voice coming out of his mouth was full of moisture.
“I’m sorry for hitting you. I’m sorry for not protecting you. The doctor is very, very sorry.”
He apologized many times, but no answer came back. Only Haeju’s crying echoed in the darkness. Yeojin felt like crying too. His heart felt like it was tearing apart.
***
After that incident in the quarantine building, Yeojin had been unconscious for a full two days, they said.
He kept dreaming of hearing only Seo Haeju’s sobbing in a world of blackness where not a single point of light existed. Haeju cried endlessly, and Yeojin repeated words of apology. Not once before opening his eyes did Yeojin see Haeju. He opened his eyes without being able to embrace even once the boy who was crying until his eyes were swollen.
“Suddenly Number 13’s ability burst out, and Quarantine Building A where Number 13 was staying was smashed to pieces. As if it had been bombarded.”
Director Im, who had visited Yeojin’s hospital room, recited the circumstances of that day’s incident briefly and concisely.
“Even though the ability control chip was inserted in Seo Haeju, how could something like this happen? I can’t believe it, really.”
As she said this while sighing heavily, her face looked haggard.
“Are the other quarantined people safe?”
When Yeojin asked, Director Im, who had been looking out the window, turned her head to look at him.
