CH-045

"!"

Feeling the hot and damp sensation of the esophagus, Yeom Hajae panicked and pulled his finger out. Flustered as if he'd been hit, he lost his balance and fell backwards.

"......"

Sitting down on the floor, he stared in astonishment at the sight before his eyes.

"Geu-uk."

Seo Shinu's chest heaved.

He wasn't dead.

Collecting himself, Yeom Hajae lifted his right hand. The saliva-soaked fingers spread, leaving transparent threads. There was a bit of red under the nail of the middle finger.

Similar to what Seo Shinu had done, Yeom Hajae's chest began to heave.

He felt like vomiting.

"Ah, he's going to throw up."

As Seo Shinu's Adam's apple rose and fell sharply, Lulu took his hand off his jaw.

"Geok..."

Splash—.

A yellow liquid spewed out. The thin liquid spilled onto Seo Shinu's body and Lulu's legs.

"Keo-heok, kollok, kollok!"

Seo Shinu, head bowed, coughed harshly. When Lulu released his legs, he collapsed powerlessly onto the floor.

"Aah-eu..."

Leaving his sunbae trembling helplessly on the floor, Lulu stood up.

Ribbit.

In the middle of the vomit, a frog monster was floundering. It probably wasn't fully grown, as a tadpole-like tail was noticeable. The thing that had tormented Seo Shinu was just a small lifeform barely two finger joints long.

Squash!

Lulu stepped on the monster. Blue blood burst over the yellow liquid.

The monster died.

Yeom Hajae let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Lulu surveyed the traces of vomit with a nonchalant face.

"Sunbae must not have even eaten breakfast. He'll be hungry."

Since most of it had fallen on his body, there wasn't much left on the floor. Even that had almost no solids visible.

"Is it over now?"

Yeom Hajae turned to Seo Shinu, full of anticipation. Soon, his face gradually hardened.

"Ability..."

Seo Shinu was crawling on the floor. He still clearly appeared to be in pain.

"My ability, it won't come out... penalty..."

He was twisting his body and muttering incomprehensible words. A foreboding premonition shook Yeom Hajae's pupils.

"......"

After a brief silence, Lulu, who had been staring at Seo Shinu, shook his head.

"Ah... seems there's one more. We'll have to go lower too."

"!"

Lulu approached Seo Shinu and raised his foot high. And then.

Thud!

"Keo-heok."

Liquid remaining in his mouth burst out. Seo Shinu curled up like a shrimp and coughed.

Seeing that scene, Yeom Hajae shot up and grabbed Lulu.

"Wha, what are you doing...!"

"Lulu can't control his strength with his hands, you see."

"!"

"We have to kill the monster, right?"

'What is this person talking about?'

Kicking him in the stomach? There's no way a monster would die that way.

"With something like that, the monster..."

"Is there another way? We don't know what the monster in Sunbae's stomach might do right now."

Lulu snapped back. Tongue-tied, Yeom Hajae just gaped.

The strength that had dented the thick iron door. If he hits him with that strength, Hyung might die...

For now, the only option was to quickly find the core and take him to a hospital. But could Seo Shinu hold out until then? It wasn't even certain where the core was.

Lulu, watching him hesitate, opened his mouth.

"Ah, do you want to do it, Hunter-nim?"

"!"

"You can do it, right? Since you won't kill him by not being able to control your strength."

"......"

Lulu's eyes flashed. Under that piercing gaze, Yeom Hajae dropped his eyes.

"Keu-eu..."

At his feet, Seo Shinu was writhing. He was lying face down clutching his stomach, yet he couldn't stay still and kept moving in agony.

He is hurting so much.

Maybe the pain is so severe that a blow to the stomach wouldn't even register.

"Hunter-nim, weren't you just about to stab Sunbae with a sword? Compared to that, this is nothing."

"...That."

Various thoughts muddled his head. Once started, the thoughts continued endlessly. He agonized but couldn't find an answer, his head spinning. Losing his balance, Yeom Hajae staggered back a few steps before standing upright.

"So? Will you do it?"

Those eyes seemed to say that if he didn't step up himself, the kicking would continue.

I want to end this situation quickly.

Not Hyung, but I want to kill the monster hiding inside Hyung's body.

I want to make him comfortable.

An answer slipped from his messed-up head.

"I'll... do it."

***

Yeom Hajae's face was now covered in blood.

Standing blankly without even thinking of stopping the bleeding from the wound on his head, he looked like a half-crazed man. Yet, without a shred of guilt, Lulu egged on the man who seemed cornered.

"If it's really hard, think of him as a sandbag, not a person."

Yeom Hajae clenched his fist. He slowly closed and opened his red, bloodshot eyes.

Seeing Seo Shinu's face made his heart weak. He deliberately fixed his gaze on the man's upper and lower body. Let's think of him as a sandbag, just as Lulu-ssi said.

Thwack!

"Geok..."

Seo Shinu's body stiffened, and he bent his upper body forward.

A harsh coughing sound was heard, as if his blocked breath had burst out.

'Did it work?'

The corners of Yeom Hajae's eyes trembled slightly. He was panting as if being chased. Though he looked quite pitiful, Lulu clicked his tongue with an unsatisfied expression.

"That's way too weak."

Yeom Hajae steadied his trembling legs and clenched his fist again.

'Sandbag, sandbag, sandbag, sandbag.'

There is a monster in that stomach. Thinking that and continuing to focus, at some point, it felt like he could almost see the monster.

"St, stop..."

The limp legs kicked the floor frantically. It was unclear whether it was because of the beating or the monster in his stomach.

Thwack! Thwack!

Seo Shinu now seemed to have no energy left even to scream, just sobbing as if his breath was about to stop.

"Heu-eu, heu."

At the faint crying sound, Yeom Hajae came to his senses. His gaze, which had been fixed downwards, slowly rose to look at Seo Shinu's face.

Seo Shinu was crying with his eyes closed. Frowning, he just shed tears helplessly before sniffling like a child.

'I'm sorry...'

Yeom Hajae squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. It was hard to ignore the clearly painful reactions. Every time Seo Shinu sobbed, his heart fluttered uncontrollably.

'But...'

The frog sound clearly came from inside Seo Shinu's stomach.

The memory of the melted penthouse front door pierced through Yeom Hajae's mind like a flash.

What if the monster in his stomach could secrete an acid just as strong?

The monster pulled out from his mouth earlier looked obviously immature and didn't put up much of a fight, but what if this one grew enough to secrete acid?

When that happens, Seo Shinu would really die.

So... the monster had to be killed first.

Thwack!

"!"

A powerfully driven fist sank deep into his stomach.

Yeom Hajae hesitated. He vividly felt that he had hit hard himself.

"Ah."

Seo Shinu's eyes slowly rolled back behind his eyelids. Even the faint movements stopped abruptly.

While his body went limp like a marionette with its strings cut, his dangling legs trembled.

And then.

Shiii...

The color of his pants, already stained with vomit, darkened.

Water dripped down his legs, wetting the floor carpet. Lulu, who hadn't let up the strength in his arms until the end, slowly laid Seo Shinu down.

"Sunbae is a bed-wetter."

"......"

The strength drained from his legs. Yeom Hajae slumped onto the messy carpet.

Seo Shinu had his eyes closed. His face was a mess of saliva and tears, and except for the red, chafed eye rims, he was frighteningly pale.

Yet, he looked more comfortable than before.

'Did the monster die?'

Yeom Hajae thought blankly with his dulled mind.

Lulu was burying his nose in his own clothes, sniffing. Yeom Hajae looked up at Lulu. His expression was desperate, as if he were about to die.

"...Is it done?"

"Uh, well, Lulu is satisfied for now."

"......"

The first aid was finished. He had to get him to a hospital quickly.

"Core, I need to find the core..."

Yeom Hajae put strength into his legs.

"Need to find it..."

His strength immediately gave way, and he flopped down. Tears dripped onto the floor.

Seeing this, Lulu sighed. Having witnessed a satisfying scene, his generosity had expanded. He decided to show some final mercy.

"Hunter-nim. If Sunbae happens to not remember today..."

"?"

Yeom Hajae slowly lifted his head. Blood and tears were falling, mixed together.

"Shall we let this remain a secret just between the two of us?"

"What?"

"You don't want Sunbae to hate you, right?"

"......"

"If he finds out you hit him this painfully, he might never want to see your face again."

"That's...!"

"So, let's keep the fact that this happened just something Lulu and Hunter-nim remember."

Biting his lip tightly, Yeom Hajae nodded.

"It's a promise."

Though an ill-fitting sentiment for a grown man covered in blood, he looked just like a child. Lulu grinned.

Yeom Hajae nodded as if mesmerized, covering his face with both hands. Belatedly, the smell of blood and foul odors registered. His head felt numb and dizzy.

He was struggling with his confused mind to figure out which places hadn't been searched yet when.

Thwack!

"?"

A clean impact sound was heard. Yeom Hajae raised his head. Lulu, who had been standing in front of him just moments ago, was gone.

'Where did he go?'

He hadn't disappeared. Lulu was collapsed on the floor.

"Huh?"

The moment he recognized the situation, he felt a presence behind him.

Thwack!

***

Pitter-patter!

The monster that had run quickly climbed up Jang Yijoong's body as if it were a tree.

"Good work."

Jang Yijoong slightly opened his outer coat pocket. The monster, which had somehow shrunk to the length of a ballpoint pen, slipped right into the pocket.

Jang Yijoong stepped past the people collapsed on the floor and approached Seo Shinu. The smell of urine was strong.

Jang Yijoong took off the coat he was wearing and covered Seo Shinu's lower body.

He stood by his head and looked down briefly, then lowered his posture to peer at his face.

Even if he looked okay on the outside, his internal organs probably weren't fine. Leaving him like this was dangerous.

Lying face down, Jang Yijoong stretched out his arm and groped under the sofa.

Whip, liquor bottle, tissue... Only after pushing aside various trash did a black sphere touch his hand. He had seen the core roll here when the monster's stomach was split open.

With the escape route so close, what on earth had those three people been doing?

Breaking the core, a black gate appeared. Jang Yijoong picked up Seo Shinu and crossed the gate.

The place they arrived at was a dark mountainside.

...This was annoying. He had planned to dump him on the street, but it's a mountainside, so it's hard for a passing pedestrian to find him.

Jang Yijoong took out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hmm..."

After hesitating a bit, he pressed the call button. The dial tone ended quickly.

- Hello?

"......"

- Yijoong-ah?

A low, soft male voice came through.

"Chairman."

Jang Yijoong spoke.

"Regarding the 'Quest', I think I found someone who knows about it..."