Shouting brightly, he straddled the semi-human’s body. Without hesitation, he pulled out the knife embedded in the chest. The semi-human turned his eyes. He looked at Joo Seonghan and opened his mouth.
“Run… away…. You’re still young…. Hurry and run…!”
The sharply honed knife plunged into the semi-human’s neck. As if caught on the neck bone, the man made even larger movements with his arm. Blood spurted out.
“Ah, I cut it a bit wrong.”
An embarrassed smile appeared on his blood-drenched face. Joo Seonghan opened his mouth blankly. The water lapping reached his chin.
“Hello, Team Leader-nim? I caught one! There are two witnesses, and I’ll process them according to procedure!”
The man looked triumphant, like a detective who’d caught a criminal, or a hunter who’d caught a difficult beast.
“You there! Are you alright! Please come out this way!”
The man who’d shouted loudly at Joo Seonghan tucked the two halves of the semi-human’s corpse under both arms. Joo Seonghan moved his frozen body toward the water’s edge. The man, who’d found several towels nearby, placed the semi-human’s body and head on them and scooped up pool water to wash away the blood on the floor. He moved several times, but there was so much blood that he made no progress.
“Ah. I’ll just have to go with something like a wild boar sighting.”
Scratching his head, he stopped washing the floor and wiped away the blood from his face and hair.
“Were you very startled? First, please calm down, and let’s go where the other witness is…. You’ve already calmed down.”
He’d been rattling off what seemed like a rehearsed guidance script when he looked at Joo Seonghan with a curious expression. As he said, outwardly he might have looked composed. But inside wasn’t like that. Joo Seonghan silently looked down at the semi-human’s corpse.
“Uh…. This is that monster-like thing…. No, why am I even saying this.”
The man frowned and placed both hands on his waist. He wore a black dress shirt under his suit jacket. Han Jaejun and Kang Hyeonjoo wore white dress shirts, so he’d thought it was mandatory, but apparently not. Did he wear a black shirt because he normally killed semi-humans like this? The red on black was just dark and barely visible.
“Witness! Let’s go this way for now!”
The man glanced down at his wristwatch and gestured to Joo Seonghan, leading the way. Joo Seonghan moved his heavy legs to follow him into the snack bar. The lifeguard, with blood on his hands and clothes, sat at a corner table with a deathly pale face.
“Please wait here for a moment. Do you have your phone with you?”
Joo Seonghan was in his swimsuit, and the lifeguard also didn’t have his phone since he was on duty.
“This is a matter of national importance, so you must not carelessly tell anyone outside about this. If you wait a moment, I’ll come back and explain in detail. Is that alright?”
The lifeguard and Joo Seonghan nodded. The man smiled and said thank you, then turned and ran. He was probably going to get a bag to contain the semi-human’s corpse and the drug to give to Joo Seonghan and the lifeguard. Joo Seonghan looked at a clock hanging on one wall, then stood up.
“Where, where are you going?”
The lifeguard looked up at Joo Seonghan with anxious eyes. Joo Seonghan answered, “The bathroom,” and left the snack bar. He headed for the lockers. He had to call Yeon Dogyeong. He didn’t mind losing his memory, but he didn’t know whether it was okay or not to get that drug injection. He’d said not to take over-the-counter medications. The memory-erasing drug wasn’t sold over-the-counter, but he had to ask. Sincerely, he never wanted to hurt that much again.
“Haa…. What are you doing?”
It was just when he’d inserted the key into the locker. The man appeared at the end of the locker corridor, his lips severely turned down as if scolding a child. Joo Seonghan quickly opened the locker. The man ran over and grabbed Joo Seonghan’s wrist, pushing him against the locker. His back hurt.
“Witness, what’s the matter.”
Unlike making him unable to move, only his voice was polite. Joo Seonghan twisted his wrist and pushed him away.
“A phone call, just one call….”
“That’s not allowed.”
“I won’t talk about what I just saw. Something I absolutely have to do right now….”
“It’s urgent business. Do it in 20 seconds.”
Saying this with a smile, he twisted Joo Seonghan’s arm. His turned body was slammed collarbone-first into the locker. Ugh, while he groaned briefly, the man covered Joo Seonghan’s back with his own body and rustled around. The cap of an ampule containing the drug fell to the floor. No, no. His body couldn’t move, and his mind froze. As he helplessly rolled his eyes in confusion, the man spoke.
“Yes, Team Leader Yeon.”
“……”
Just how many people named Team Leader Yeon could there be in the Semi-Human Department.
“I’m processing it now. When I finish, I’ll report to the higher-ups….”
“Team Leader Yeon-nim!”
He called out, interrupting the man’s words. The man flinched. Joo Seonghan forced open his trembling jaw.
“Team Leader Yeon-nim! Is it, is it okay for me to get this….”
“What?”
The man who’d covered Joo Seonghan’s mouth with his hand asked loudly. He seemed to listen to the other person, then gently released Joo Seonghan’s face.
“…Why?”
The man who’d been pressing down on Joo Seonghan’s body stepped back. Even while asking why, he seemed to be faithfully following instructions. Joo Seonghan looked down at his chest and collarbone that had turned red from the impact, then slowly turned around. The man was looking at Joo Seonghan with wide eyes.
“Is that true?”
The man’s expression changed. Joo Seonghan bit his lip as he looked at him, suddenly serious. He answered “Yes, yes,” nodding even though he couldn’t see the other person.
“…Understood. I’ll do that for now. You have to meet me after work!”
The man, who seemed to have ended the conversation, tapped his earpiece and bent down to pick up the ampule cap he’d dropped earlier. He roughly shoved it into his pocket along with the syringe filled with the drug.
“Hello, Joo Seonghan-ssi.”
The man, who’d put some distance between them, called Joo Seonghan’s name and greeted him in a bright voice. Joo Seonghan opened his mouth slightly, unable to completely erase his anxious expression.
“…Hello.”
“I’m Cha Gyeongjae, a team member of Semi-Human Department Team 3.”
Cha Gyeongjae smiled broadly and extended his hand. When Joo Seonghan only stared, he grabbed Joo Seonghan’s hand himself, shook it twice, and let go.
“Did it hurt? I’m sorry.”
Looking over the reddened collarbone area from various angles, he took a pen from his suit jacket’s inner pocket.
“You can tell Team Leader Yeon. If any bones are broken, definitely bill me!”
For some reason saying this in a confident and bright voice, he grabbed Joo Seonghan’s wrist and lifted it to scribble on his arm. Joo Seonghan blinked and looked at Cha Gyeongjae, who was about the same height.
“I’ve been getting stronger lately… I’m incredibly strong compared to civilians.”
Saying this in an embarrassed voice, he added a big laugh at the end. Joo Seonghan didn’t open his mouth this time either. Then Cha Gyeongjae suddenly raised his head and put a lot of strength in his eyes.
“You might not believe it, but my goal is to become stronger than Team Leader Yeon.”
“…Yes.”
“But potions don’t work on me for strength. Only useless abilities get hugely enhanced….”
Clicking his tongue, he removed the pen from Joo Seonghan’s arm. He’d said to send a bill, so he thought maybe he was writing contact information, but it wasn’t. On Joo Seonghan’s arm was written an address and a store name.
“It’s 10 minutes from here. In 15 minutes, Team Leader Yeon will come to that place. Since our job is what it is, we don’t stay in one place for long. If you have business, just go there. Um…. What else did he say. Ah, if meeting is inconvenient, you can just call. Well then, I’ll be going. I have to process the witness and that corpse….”
Cha Gyeongjae trailed off and took a step. Joo Seonghan raised his head from looking at his arm and said “Thank you” to him, who’d already turned around. Cha Gyeongjae smiled cheerfully, waved his hand, and left the changing room.
Left alone, Joo Seonghan took off his swimsuit and brought a towel to dry his body and hair. He diligently put on his underwear and clothes, gathered his things, left the pool, and went down to the underground parking lot. He started the car. He held his flip phone in his hand and looked down at his contact information on the screen. Then he opened the navigation app and entered the address written long and large on his forearm. He was really terrible. Joo Seonghan ran his hands through his still-damp hair and gripped the steering wheel. He rubbed his eyes once and pressed the accelerator. There was no way meeting would be inconvenient.
* * *
He wished he hadn’t been given a choice in the first place. So he could make excuses that he was manipulated without knowing, so he could deceive himself that Joo Seonghan’s will wasn’t involved at all, so he could at least say he’d tried to push him away.
But what was the point of all that. Joo Seonghan liked Yeon Dogyeong. Enough to feel emotions resembling disappointment toward him when he hung up the phone hurriedly, enough to feel absurd jealousy, enough to masturbate while imagining sleeping with him. It was a one-sided feeling. He knew that. And he also knew that his relationship with him would end someday regardless of Joo Seonghan’s feelings.
Human relationships aren’t eternal. Whether by choice or force, an end comes in some form eventually. Until that end comes, he thought to do what he could. Answer Yeon Dogyeong’s calls, respond to his kisses, and when told to choose whether to meet or call, choose the better option. Since the past couldn’t be changed, stop running away now, and even if he had to hide things sometimes, accumulate as many memories as possible to savor later—Joo Seonghan made that resolution as he waited for Yeon Dogyeong.
