# Chapter 144
The surveillance camera footage was still being displayed largely on the connected monitors. The only difference from earlier was that the chair was now empty. Iyeon, who glanced briefly at the cracked LCD sputtering at the edge, turned around. To quickly exit this place, he needed to find Sano first.
Although he couldn’t expect guidance from Hyegang due to the communication blackout, Iyeon already had a map he’d received. Even if it was a simplified structure, it would be enough to roughly navigate. If Sano was still fighting with Seeun, he would be near the entrance, so heading that way was the plan.
“Mmm…”
At that moment, a small groan came from his arms. Iyeon hurriedly lowered his head.
“Mirae? Are you okay?”
Her dazed eyes blinked several times before focusing. Soon, Iyeon’s face was reflected in her round pupils.
“Uuu… Uncle Iyeon?”
Ah, thank you. Iyeon murmured a prayer to no one in particular as he examined Mirae. Her voice was just slightly hoarse but otherwise fine. He’d been worried since Taejin’s nuances suggested the experiment had already been conducted, but it seemed to have been only in the initial stages.
“Why is uncle here? This is…”
Mirae looked around. Her small head turned around rapidly before stopping abruptly at a certain spot. Iyeon followed her gaze. He caught a glimpse of a girl sprawled in the corner.
“Uh…”
Mirae’s eyes grew as large as marbles when she discovered the fallen Semi. Iyeon hurriedly adjusted his balance as Mirae’s body suddenly began thrashing.
“What, what’s wrong?”
Mirae didn’t answer Iyeon’s question. When he instinctively released her as she struggled to get down, Mirae staggered slightly before dashing away. Her clear voice echoed through the laboratory.
“Secret Unnie!”
Reaching Semi with a rough sprint that looked like she might fall, Mirae shook Semi vigorously. The hair that had fallen over Semi’s face due to her collapsed position dangled along with the movement. When Semi showed no response, Mirae urgently asked Iyeon.
“Uncle, what’s wrong with Secret Unnie? Is she hurting a lot?”
Her face, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment, was desperate. Iyeon, who had been left behind blinking in confusion, approached. A perplexed voice flowed out.
“Mirae, that person isn’t Secret Unnie. Look carefully…”
Because the twins looked so similar, she seemed to have confused Semi with Seeun. As he pondered how to tell the child without shocking her that the person she was trying to wake wasn’t the one who had played with her, Mirae’s exclamation burst out.
“What are you saying! This is Secret Unnie! Secret Unnie isn’t opening her eyes. Why is she like this? Unnie, unnie…”
Tears finally streamed from Mirae’s eyes. Sobbing loudly, her small hands endlessly shook Semi. Iyeon pulled Mirae away from the forceful gesture, but Mirae shook him off and wouldn’t let go of Semi. The hem of the clothing she gripped tightly like a lifeline had long been completely wrinkled.
The crying seemed to have been noisy enough.
Suddenly, Semi frowned. A small moan of pain escaped through her lips.
“Ugh, what…”
“Unnie! Secret Unnie!”
Her eyelids opened with difficulty. Taking advantage of Mirae’s momentary relief at Semi waking up, which caused her to loosen her grip, Iyeon picked up Mirae. It would be disastrous if Semi, understanding the situation, escaped with Taejin. Iyeon checked toward Taejin with a wary face. Fortunately, he seemed to still lack the strength to move and remained quiet.
“Unnie, are you okay?”
Even while being held by Iyeon, Mirae continued to speak to Semi. The deeply wrinkled area around Semi’s eyes trembled at the child’s voice. Her head, which had been creaking as if searching for location, soon discovered Iyeon and Mirae. Iyeon tightened his grip on Mirae as if to protect her.
However, as if she couldn’t see Iyeon’s hostile gaze, Semi abruptly stood up.
“You, how…! I told you to stay still!”
“I did stay still! Uncle came…”
“You never listen! I told you it was dangerous!”
Semi, now conscious, was completely different from Seeun. She had neither a gentle, mild tone nor a soft impression.
Nevertheless, Mirae spoke to her as if familiar with her. Semi too didn’t seem to be lying.
‘…Huh?’
It felt like something had struck the back of his head. Iyeon stared stupidly at the two. The strange sense of incongruity he’d felt since hearing Seeun’s story shone in the crevices of his thoughts. The twisted pieces moved to find their proper places.
Seeun’s “Secret Unnie” wasn’t Seeun.
It was Semi.
“I see.”
A soft voice resonated from behind, carrying a faint smile. Semi, who had been frowning intensely at Mirae, immediately froze stiffly. Iyeon slowly turned his head to look behind.
“I wondered why that little one was so lively.”
A man who had risen at some point was standing like a mirage, looking this way. His posture was slightly crooked, perhaps because the pain hadn’t completely subsided, but the desperate appearance he had shown to Iyeon just moments ago had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a composed look.
“Semi didn’t listen to me.”
When the amused-sounding voice gently reached her, Semi averted her gaze with a frightened face. Ah. Only then did the unfolding situation make sense.
Meeting Mirae for the first time in the small supply room, taking care of her continuously afterward, editing her vlog, watching over her daily life.
And protecting her until the end.
“Mirae.”
Mirae looked up at Iyeon’s whisper. Glancing at the bright, alert eyes, Iyeon whispered so only the child could hear.
“When I saw you earlier, your eyes were very puffy. Did you cry when you were sitting in the chair?”
“Mmhm.”
“Why did you cry? Were you scared?”
Mirae rolled her eyes with a “hmm” and then whispered back to Iyeon.
“Secret Unnie cried.”
It was a very, very small voice.
“She said it would be okay many, many times. But Unnie didn’t look okay.”
“…”
“Seeing that made Mirae sad too.”
Her face looked gloomy, as if the emotions from that time were returning. Iyeon patted Mirae’s head. Mirae burrowed into his affectionate embrace.
“It’s okay, Semi.”
Taejin’s face was still smiling. With the most merciful tone, a gentle invitation was offered to Semi.
“Come here.”
Semi flinched. Iyeon noticed that even as her eyes, filled with confusion and fear, were directed toward Taejin, her gaze briefly touched Mirae.
But Semi soon squeezed her eyes shut. Her face, full of guilt, looked down at the floor as if avoiding Mirae.
It wasn’t a good sign.
Semi and Taejin shouldn’t be together. If a teleporter disappeared, there was no way to know their destination. Driven by an instinctive sense of crisis, Iyeon was just about to open his mouth to stop Semi.
CRASH!
What was presumably the entrance wall flew away entirely.
The fragments had been thrown with such force that they all collided with the opposite wall, making the broken area surprisingly clean. Countless pieces of the wall pierced numerous monitor screens. Tuk, tuk, tuk… Glass fragments belatedly fell. The screens that had been showing the room where Mirae was confined had all turned black, even exposing some internal components.
It felt like his ears would fall off. Even Semi seemed startled by the sudden explosion and stopped moving mid-action. Meanwhile, Iyeon, who had reflexively covered both of Mirae’s ears, frowned as he looked at the shattered wall. Even at a glance, a large figure could be seen standing crookedly.
There was only one person who would do such a thing here.
“Je Sano…”
It was the most flamboyant entrance of all.
“Before and now, you still like being stuffed in corners.”
Sano sarcastically remarked with coldness. His hostility toward Taejin was clearly exposed. Taejin smiled as if troubled, saying, “Oh my.”
“Hello, Number 3.”
The intention behind deliberately not calling him by name was low. While Sano himself showed no reaction, Iyeon frowned instead.
“Seeing you after so long, you’ve become much more impressive.”
Taejin behaved as if they were on friendly terms. He seemed to have completely forgotten his previous attempts to kill Sano.
“Are you using the ability I gave you well?”
That made sense, as to Taejin, Sano was the greatest achievement of his research career. Mugunghwa Tier 5, Rank 1, created by his own hands. From the moment Sano’s achievements began to be recorded, Taejin’s ability was as good as eternally proven.
“Seems like you’ve gone senile.”
Sano smirked as if he’d heard a funny joke.
“No chance of dying peacefully now.”
With those words, black spikes rose from the floor and walls. The spikes, which had grown so densely there was no place to step, swarmed toward Taejin. Swish! The sharp sound of wind burst forth, making even Iyeon’s clothes flutter.
“No…!”
A high-pitched, single-syllable scream erupted at that moment.
