Number 13. Since the room number assigned to Seo Haeju was 13, everyone called him that. The quarantined person who entered Room 15 was just Number 15. Here, no one looked after the human rights of the quarantined. It was ironic that while they feared and loathed Transcendents, they still observed minor protection laws.
It felt like just yesterday they’d had that meeting, but already four months had passed. Before they knew it, Seo Haeju’s birthday was approaching, and after today passed, Seo Haeju would become a legal adult.
That meant that whatever decision Seo Haeju made, he would leave this temporary center. Today was the last day with Seo Haeju.
Min Yeojin quietly stared at Seo Haeju’s ID photo on the computer screen.
A boy wearing a school uniform with glossy black hair neatly combed back was looking straight ahead. Just from the photo, you could see it was a face overflowing with intelligence. With neat features, he was also tall with a good physique.
Seo Haeju had been a student at a famous private high school and was said to be an honor student recognized by the school. He was good at both studying and sports, had a good personality, and had many friends.
Both parents were doctors, and he was a child from a well-off family where a chauffeur drove him to school every morning.
It must have been a life with nothing to envy. Haeju, who had been a high school senior before the car accident, had safely taken his entrance exams in November, and his grades were top-tier. The school said that Seo Haeju had submitted an application for early admission to T University, the best prestigious university in the country, and was waiting for the acceptance announcement in mid-December. Right before the early admission results, he’d gone on a family trip and met with disaster.
Had this boy ever imagined that his life would plummet into ruin in an instant like this? And that he’d become a Transcendent and be treated like a social germ. How shocking must that day’s accident have been for him to have erased all his memories? Due to the shock of the accident, Seo Haeju had locked away all his memories and regressed into a pure, innocent child.
Poor kid.
Even if he became a legal adult, his mental age was that of a young child—could he even make a proper choice? It wouldn’t be easy to endure anywhere.
He’d met Seo Haeju on his way back from the columbarium on the anniversary of his younger brother Seokhyeon’s death. Haeju happened to be the same age as Seokhyeon. If Seokhyeon had lived, he too would have become an adult this year. That’s why Yeojin was even more concerned about Seo Haeju.
If possible, I’d like to stay by his side and continue watching over and caring for Haeju.
Min Yeojin let out a deep sigh inwardly and turned his eyes away from the monitor.
“Oh, but did you hear that government policy is changing starting today?”
“No. What are you talking about?”
“I have a friend at the NSP Department who told me. Apparently the NSP Minister was attacked recently. Fortunately, it seems the Minister is safe.”
Everyone called the National Security and Peace Maintenance Department the NSP Department for short. It was a new national department created when Transcendents began appearing, to specially classify and manage them centrally.
“What? Really? Who attacked the Minister?”
“What was it called? Earth? It’s a rebel group made by Transcendents.”
“Rebels? They do all kinds of things. They insist they’re human beings too, but how can we treat them as human beings when they go around doing terrorist acts like that?”
The staff members eagerly chimed in with a word or two criticizing the Transcendents. But Yeojin ignored their words and concentrated on his work.
The section chief, who came into the office late and heard the staff members murmuring, tapped his desk with documents.
“Everyone watch your mouths. Should you be carelessly chattering about such important confidential matters?”
The staff members quickly shut their mouths at the same time.
“Don’t run your mouths. An official notice about the changed government policy will come down soon.”
“Um, Section Chief.”
Yeojin suddenly remembered something and raised his hand. The section chief’s gaze turned to Yeojin.
“Did you suggest the heating problem in the quarantine building to the Director?”
“I got thoroughly chewed out, with her saying what kind of heating facility construction when winter’s already over. She asked me if I was crazy.”
“But the temperature difference is so extreme that many quarantined people have caught colds.”
“If they’re Transcendents, why are they all so weak? A cold is an illness that gets better with medicine, so Dr. Min, you take care of giving them medicine.”
“But Section Chief.”
“That’s enough. I’m already busy to death, why are you bothering me with useless things? If you’re so insistent, Dr. Min, why don’t you suggest it directly to the Director yourself?”
The section chief waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed and went to sit at his seat. It had already been three months since he’d made suggestions about the quarantine building heating. Since January, when the bitter cold had been raging, the heating facilities had broken down and the quarantined people had to shiver in the cold. Transcendents were people too. Wouldn’t they be cold too? Even while they themselves were blasting space heaters and bathing in heating devices all day long.
In the end, Yeojin had dug into his own pocket to buy electric mats and placed one in each room.
“Anyway, Dr. Min is peculiar.”
“Strange, strange.”
“Why is he like that? So annoying, really.”
He could hear the office people murmuring loud enough for him to hear. Since it was the usual thing, Yeojin brought his gaze back to the documents unconcernedly. He’d been concentrating on work for a while when a small scream of “Kyaak!” rang out in the quiet office.
Everyone got up to see what had happened. A female employee who’d been coming out of the break room after making coffee was standing in front of the window with a terrified expression.
“Wh-what kind of bird is that?”
Following her gaze, everyone looked outside the window. They could see a pitch-black bird sitting on a branch in front of the window. Its entire body was black and it was so large that it looked quite threatening. It was understandable that the female employee was startled with such a large, jet-black thing sitting in front of the window.
“Isn’t it a crow?”
“A crow? Even though I saw them often in the countryside, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crow in Seoul.”
“I’ve never seen a crow with such a large build. It’s so pitch-black it’s scary.”
“Why is it sitting there so inauspiciously?”
People stirred and approached the window to get a look at the bird. It would be normal for it to get scared of the unfamiliar people and fly away, but the crow didn’t budge and sat on the branch.
It tilted its jet-black head and stared at the people looking at it. It was hard to tell who was watching whom.
“What is everyone doing? Why is the office atmosphere so chaotic today? Let’s work.”
The section chief, returning from the bathroom, got irritated again and sent the staff back to their seats and lowered the window blinds. Soon the office was filled only with the sounds of keyboards being tapped and mouse clicks. It was the office’s usual scenery. Yeojin, who’d been momentarily distracted by the uninvited guest outside the window, also hurriedly resumed his work.
He was in a hurry because he was planning to throw Haeju’s birthday party in the afternoon. He had to finish work quickly.
***
“Hello, Doctor.”
When he went to the quarantined residents’ building, people all wearing the same mustard-colored quarantine uniforms saw Yeojin and greeted him with smiles. Yeojin also smiled at them. He saw a young man walking from the opposite direction who’d been transferred to the quarantine center when his abilities manifested on the day he enlisted in the military.
“Seungwoo. How’s your sore throat?”
“It’s much better today.”
“That’s good. You’re taking your medicine properly, right?”
“I actually finished all the medicine.”
“Come to the clinic later. I’ll give you more medicine and one more shot. Your voice still hasn’t come back.”
The young man nodded with an eye-smile, saying yes.
“Doctor. Why do you look so handsome again today?”
Miae, who was passing by, greeted him with a friendly smile.
“Did you get even prettier today?”
“Are you going to see Haeju again today, Doctor? I don’t like that kid. He has a bad personality.”
“Don’t be like that. He’s a pitiful kid. Be friendly with him.”
“Oh, Doctor. I’ll complete my three months in a week. I made a final consultation appointment with you. You can’t forget, okay?”
“I won’t forget. Have you decided what to do after you leave here?”
“Yes. I’m going to decide to become a Special Civil Servant like you said, Doctor.”
“Good thinking.”
Miae smiled broadly, showing her teeth. After greeting her saying they’d see each other at consultation time, he hummed and headed toward Haeju’s room, Number 13.
“What makes you so happy that you’re even humming?”
A middle-aged quarantined person walking from the opposite hallway didn’t just pass by and struck up a conversation.
“I’m just happy. Coming here puts me in a good mood. It’s even better seeing everyone healthy.”
“There’s no one like you, Doctor. All the center staff members make terrible faces whenever they come here. I don’t know why they’re like that. We were people just like them until recently. Do they think we wanted to become like this?”
As the man quickly became dejected, Yeojin spoke more cheerfully.
“Hey. Stop thinking gloomy thoughts. Only think bright thoughts.”
“We can’t have visitors and I’m worried sick about my kids.”
“You have one month left in your quarantine period, so please wait just a little. What would your family do if something happened to you? Keep your mental fortitude strong. Aren’t you a former Marine who catches ghosts?”
“Yes. I have to. I’ll endure well for my family’s sake at least.”
Hang in there! When he shouted energetically, only then did a smile spread across the man’s face. After greeting the man, he hurried to Number 13, but Haeju wasn’t in his room.
“Do you know where Haeju is? He’s not in his room.”
He grabbed a quarantined person passing by the room and asked.
“I saw him in the first-floor lounge.”
That was a space that got the best sunlight at this time, a place Haeju often went to.
Seo Haeju was sitting in front of the window where sunlight poured in, blankly looking at the scenery outside. Even wearing those baggy quarantine uniforms that look like prison clothes, this kid is so fair and pretty. Haeju, who’d been staring blankly with unfocused eyes, casually turned his head and discovered Yeojin. A bright smile immediately spread across Haeju’s expressionless face.
