# Chapter 97
“Drive carefully.”
“I’m still not over it.”
“I know. I understand what you’re thinking. I can still worry, right?”
While his uncle and father chatted, Jeongyeon loaded the car with his mother. His eyes were a bit swollen, but his face was calm.
“Jeongyeon, when we get home, shall we go on a date?”
“Sounds good.”
His mother seemed concerned and kept trying to lift the mood with various questions, but although he answered properly, his expression remained downcast. Meanwhile, all the belongings Jeongyeon had brought were neatly packed into the trunk. Clothes, toys, books, summer homework, remaining snacks—everything.
Soon there would be no trace left of Jeongyeon’s stay here.
“Take care, Jeongyeon. Uncle will come visit you later.”
“Yes, see you later.”
Jeongyeon bowed his head slightly and got into the car. His parents also took their places in the driver’s and passenger seats. The white car soon disappeared down the mountain road leading away from the research center, kicking up dust.
Taejin, his uncle who had been waving, only stopped when the car was out of sight. Now the research center was truly empty. All that remained were numerous files, components, and Taejin himself.
“Now I just need to finish up.”
The man muttered lightly as he turned around. His steps returning to the research center were almost cheerful. The thick door closed behind Taejin, who entered the research center’s inner section while humming.
Five minutes later.
From Jeongyeon’s room, now empty with all belongings gone, Jeongyeon quietly slipped out.
His heart was beating so hard he thought he might die. Clenching his fists in tension, Jeongyeon creaked around checking his surroundings. The corridor was quiet. This was to be expected, since he had clearly heard the rhythmic footsteps entering somewhere before coming out.
What had departed with his parents was a Jeongyeon created with his materialization ability. Throughout the time he anxiously peeked through the window at the research center entrance, afraid of being caught, fortunately no one seemed to have noticed his ability.
‘After I do this, I too will…’
Of course, he had no intention of separating from his parents for good. He would rescue Sano and then return to his parents as if nothing had happened. His materialization ability couldn’t be maintained forever, but it could easily last three or four days. If he timed it right and switched places with his double to enter home, there would be no problem.
No adult would approve of Jeongyeon’s actions. If discovered, both his uncle and parents might scold him, punish him, maybe even abandon him.
But he couldn’t leave Sano to die for such reasons.
People shouldn’t die because of such things.
Jeongyeon headed straight for Sano’s room. His quick steps were hurried.
Rumble…
At that moment, a heavy explosive sound came from somewhere in the building. Jeongyeon stopped and looked around anxiously. Taejin’s final plan was to destroy the entire research center building and leave alone. Time was running out.
He was uncertain whether Taejin would be in Sano’s room or not. If his uncle was in the process of ki-kil-killing Sano… Jeongyeon, his face turning pale, quickened his pace. Though he hoped for the best, he had to stop it even if it meant revealing himself.
Click.
“Sano!”
“…Lee Jeongyeon?”
The eyes of Sano, who was sitting quietly at the desk, widened.
“I thought you were leaving today… Haven’t you left yet?”
“How could I leave by myself?”
Jeongyeon approached with large strides.
“Let’s go together.”
It was like a replay from hours ago. Facing Jeongyeon’s resolute expression that seemed unwilling to back down, Sano frowned.
“Why are you going this far?”
His low voice was a bit hoarse. Confusion and doubt mixed in his dark pupils, giving off a murky light. Meeting like this again was not in Sano’s expectations. Jeongyeon clearly prioritized his parents, and Sano had thought he fully understood after their conversation at dawn.
Sano also wanted to live. If he had wished for death, he wouldn’t have endured his time at the research center.
But his life wasn’t valuable enough to shatter Jeongyeon’s life.
“I have no parents, no siblings.”
It would be fair to say Sano had almost nothing. He had no blood relations, property, knowledge—nothing at all. The experiment he had endured for years ultimately failed. The child who should have become a butterfly never metamorphosed.
No, perhaps he wasn’t even a bug to begin with.
“It doesn’t matter if I die here.”
The quiet voice sounded like it was just reciting dry facts, which made it all the more painful.
A heavy silence fell. Rumble, thud… The sound of the building collapsing was heard again. The vibration of solid concrete breaking sent weak tremors all the way to Sano’s room.
Sano didn’t press for an answer. As at dawn, he thought Jeongyeon would eventually have to back down.
Because unlike Sano, he had something in his hands.
“Hey.”
What broke the long silence was a fierce voice.
Sano, who had been fixating his gaze on the empty desk, was a bit surprised by the hostility directed at him and turned his head. Jeongyeon was glaring at him.
“Why does there need to be a reason for this?”
“…What?”
In the moment Sano hesitated to answer, caught off guard by the unexpected words, Jeongyeon’s voice poured out like a storm. His growling voice, like rolling thunder, carried various emotions: anger, worry, irritation, anxiety, frustration, goodwill.
“How can you just go when you know you’ll die?”
It was a storm Sano had never encountered before. Without time to dodge, he was completely drenched.
A tingling sensation, as if lightning was passing through his heart, spread to his ribs. Though he clearly knew it wasn’t real pain, somehow it was difficult to breathe deeply, and Sano quietly inhaled. Meanwhile, Jeongyeon’s voice continued.
“If you really can’t understand, just say I’m doing it because I want to.”
“…Just because?”
Jeongyeon, overcome by his emotions and panting, didn’t notice that Sano’s voice was slightly dazed. He simply answered forcefully as if telling him not to argue.
“Just because.”
When Sano didn’t respond, Jeongyeon’s emotions gradually subsided, exhausted on their own. Ah, this isn’t right. Belatedly coming to his senses, Jeongyeon hurriedly examined Sano’s face. The handsome face was looking at him with a curious gaze, but not being able to identify the emotion was frustrating.
Jeongyeon spoke to Sano again with a much more subdued voice.
“Let’s go outside.”
But his resolve hadn’t weakened.
Only then did Sano realize. Jeongyeon was truly sincere.
He sincerely wanted Sano not to die. He wanted him to escape safely and live in the world. Instead of leaving in his parents’ car, he had stayed.
And he had come to find him.
“We agreed to be hunters together.”
The firm gaze stared directly at Sano. The extended hand was unhesitatingly directed toward him.
No one could resist being enchanted by that. Sano reached out his arm.
Thud, thud… The noisy sounds of destruction grew louder. The two, having left the room, ran quickly through the research center corridors. Jeongyeon also created a pair of sneakers for Sano, who was wearing indoor shoes. The white sneakers, identical to Jeongyeon’s, hurriedly trod the floor.
The location of Sano’s room was one of the most remote areas in the research center, making it among the areas furthest from the entrance. To make matters worse, the convoluted corridor layout meant they had a long way to go despite running diligently. The two ran and ran, swallowing their rising breaths.
“Watch out!”
Jeongyeon shouted sharply and quickly pulled Sano. They barely avoided concrete debris jutting out from the wall. Jeongyeon, who fell due to the recoil, got up with an “Ugh.” His knees had reddened from scraping the floor. Sano, who had staggered a bit before finding his balance, helped him up.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah.”
Jeongyeon looked with horrified eyes at the protruding steel beam. The speed at which the research center was collapsing was accelerating. The sequential sounds of destruction had reached right in front of them. There was no time to dawdle.
Still, thanks to their desperate running, they had gotten quite close to the entrance. Jeongyeon gauged the layout of the research center. From here, the path wasn’t too complicated either.
“From now on, let’s just run without ever stopping.”
They didn’t know when the building might suddenly collapse. They could be buried under falling debris, get injured, or become trapped.
“From here, run straight ahead and at the fork take a left, then a right, and then straight to the entrance. I’m telling you in advance because we need to save our breath for shouting.”
Sano nodded at Jeongyeon’s earnest request.
“We’re in real danger. We have to run with gritted teeth. We absolutely cannot stop. I will definitely not stop either. Got it? When I say one, two, three, we run.”
The two children’s gazes collided. Jeongyeon, taking a deep breath, put all his strength into his legs.
“One, two, three!”
