# Chapter 36
At first, Sano intended to just support Iyeon as they walked, but seeing how blood flowed whenever Iyeon moved, he decided to carry him instead. Iyeon’s slender body, dangling in Sano’s arms, looked much smaller than usual in direct comparison to Sano’s build.
Feeling awkward at the sudden closeness, Iyeon fidgeted and mumbled whatever came to mind.
“Hey… Why are you carrying me so gently?”
“Shut up.”
Despite his curt response, Sano’s arms remained steady, supporting him without wavering. That contradiction made Iyeon’s heart tighten strangely.
“Why do you treat your body like that?”
“You sound like my mom.”
“Cut the bullshit.”
Clearly annoyed, Sano irritably looked over Iyeon’s body. Drained of all energy, Iyeon’s body swayed weakly.
“You’re really irritating.”
“…Why are you angry?”
Though Iyeon admitted he had acted recklessly, the situation had been desperate—the doctor seemed ready to escape. If he had disappeared through the portal, catching him again would have been nearly impossible.
Considering the tracking device he’d managed to plant, these injuries weren’t such a bad trade-off. Modern hospital technology was amazing anyway… Seeing Iyeon’s dejected response, Sano just kept frowning deeply.
“Whatever.”
Iyeon’s face didn’t look like things were “whatever,” but he seemed unaware of how unconvincing he sounded.
“Hyung, are you okay? Why do you always throw your body into danger when you’re not even that sturdy?” Hyegang asked worriedly, his concern sounding almost like nagging.
“What could I do when it was urgent… Ah! Je Sano, did you bring my goggles?”
“Did you leave them with me?”
“Hey, don’t you dare throw those away. They’re worth more than my life…”
Sano frowned at Iyeon’s pathetic muttering, then casually waved his hand. Immediately, Iyeon’s goggles emerged from the ceiling.
“Wow! Thank y—”
Iyeon’s expression darkened dramatically when he discovered that the connection jack had been completely destroyed, as if it had been forcibly disconnected. Great, another expense right after treating his injuries… He wasn’t sure if his current dizziness was from blood loss or the impending hemorrhage in his bank account.
They arrived at the mutant storage facility in no time. Inside, Mungchi was still energetically bouncing around. Je Sano entered right into the middle of this chaotic scene.
Peace reigned everywhere he went. Without moving a finger, he instantly subdued all the security guards. Mungchi spotted them and came bounding over, repeatedly jumping to reach Iyeon who was still in Sano’s arms. When Sano’s rigid posture showed no consideration for Mungchi’s efforts, the creature’s tail drooped dejectedly. Iyeon awkwardly tried to console it.
“Hey, Mungchi. Hyung is hurt, so Sano is helping me.”
“Hyung?”
At Sano’s skeptical question, Iyeon grumbled.
“Anyone smaller than me is my dongsaeng.”
“Must be nice having so many elders.”
“Hey, I’m average height.”
“As if.”
As they bickered, Jaekyung finally approached them.
“Ah, Jaekyung-ssi. Did you finish the work?”
“Yes! Thank you.”
Fortunately, it seemed the intended treatment had been completed successfully. Peeking over, Iyeon could see that the pacified mutants were now watching them from a distance.
“And Iyeon-ssi, I’ve been thinking about Mungchi.”
Indeed, for a mutant otaku, the creature seemed to be the first priority—even when his companion had his stomach torn open. Looking more carefully, Iyeon noticed that while Jaekyung’s body was facing them, his eyes remained fixed on Mungchi.
“You said you didn’t know its species, right? I caught a glimpse of it fighting earlier, and parts of its fur turned blue. Considering that, I suspect it might be a certain species. It’s a bit small, but mutations happen. I don’t know if you’re aware, but among high-level mutants…”
“That’s the one.”
“Huh?”
Despite Iyeon’s flat response, Jaekyung excitedly asked if his guess was correct. He wanted to pet Mungchi’s head but couldn’t bring himself to touch it as the creature growled warily.
“Weren’t you hurt, Jaekyung-ssi?”
“Oh! I’m fine.”
Even with Iyeon’s indirect hint that he was injured, Jaekyung completely missed it. They say bad comments are better than no comments at all—that old saying was proving true. Feeling desolate, Iyeon nestled deeper into the arms of his harsh critic. Sano glared as if to ask what the hell he was doing, but fortunately didn’t throw the patient to the ground.
“How are the mutants?”
“They’re mostly done.”
“Mostly?”
“I couldn’t completely extract the remaining gi-ryeok, so they’ll need additional treatment.”
Jaekyung then declared that he would take all the mutants. As he said this, he anxiously watched Iyeon’s reaction, seemingly worried that Iyeon might insist they should be taken to the Superpower Management Office.
“Well, go ahead.”
“Really?”
Iyeon nodded. The current situation wasn’t about capturing a few more superpowered mutants anyway. The priority was delivering the reports they had gathered to Heesu.
Besides, thanks to Jaekyung’s efforts, they had been reduced to ordinary lower-level mutants, so taking them to the research institute wouldn’t yield much, and they wouldn’t pose a significant threat to civilians. If they did cause harm… Jaekyung would surely contact them. That would be better than having superpowered individuals coming to kill them. Iyeon handed him a business card.
“Contact me if anything happens.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Are you leaving now?”
“Hmm… after one more thing.”
Iyeon scanned the research lab.
“Hyegang. Ready?”
“Leave it to me.”
A cheerful voice answered. One, two, three. Exactly three seconds later, all power to the research facility went out, and every system crashed.
The illegal research lab closed its operations very neatly.
They took the 24-hour underground elevator on their way back.
“The emergency room is too far from this neighborhood.”
Wait, they weren’t going home…
“The bleeding seems to have stopped. Couldn’t we just go after sleeping?”
Sano looked at him with contemptuous eyes at this foolish suggestion. Seems like Iyeon had said the wrong thing. Feeling sheepish, he avoided Sano’s gaze and pretended to be distracted. Silence fell.
Watching as they fearlessly made their way through the dark underground, Iyeon suddenly murmured.
“About Kim Cheoljae.”
“…”
“He said it was for the advancement of humanity.”
His quiet voice was brittle, like it was made of sand. His pale, almost bleached-looking hair fluttered lightly in the breeze created by their movement. Sano glanced at him before looking ahead again.
“Why do people like that always have the same repertoire?”
“Because they’re stupid.”
“Even though they’re so educated.”
“That’s a separate issue from being stupid.”
His voice was resolute. Iyeon grumbled.
“I doubt anyone isn’t stupid in your eyes.”
At those words, a cold gaze turned toward Iyeon. The direct stare made Iyeon’s heart suddenly beat faster.
“You’re… like an insect.”
“…”
Unable to find an appropriate response, Iyeon closed his mouth. Unfortunately, Sano didn’t close his.
“That’s okay.”
“…What is?”
“Even if you’re an insect.”
Is this… Je Sano’s version of comfort? Contextually, being called an insect was better than being called stupid? It was most confusing to determine whether this was an insult or not.
While Iyeon was too confused to respond, Sano, unusually, spoke first.
“Your parents.”
“…”
“Where are they now?”
It was a question that had no connection to their previous conversation. Iyeon didn’t answer for a long time, but Sano didn’t press for a response. When his pulse had calmed somewhat, Iyeon finally spoke in an even voice.
“They passed away.”
