༺ Dobong-gu: Epilogue (2) ༻
A drizzle came down gently, akin to mist billowing from a humidifier.
My clothes were drenched and the falling raindrops made it difficult to open my eyes. Yet, I still forced myself to open my eyes and look across the alley.
Darkness shrouded the alley, creating an ominous atmosphere akin to a gaping monster’s maw.
“Hyejin, Hyejin, Hyejin. Where are you?”
It was the calm voice of that accursed man.
Footsteps reverberated through the quiet alley, as if desperately searching for me.
“If only you had sold the horns when I told you to, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But because you didn’t, our work just became complicated, and now you will also be sad because you won’t get paid.”
I took a deep breath, waiting for an opportunity.
“Once caught, you are supposed to stay quiet. How dare you escape? You know you’ll be whipped, right? Whipped!!”
I couldn’t let those people catch me.
After all, I needed to find my older sister who had gone to Seoul.
“Hyejin, my dear… Do you even know where you are? Do you honestly believe you can run away? Walk all the way from here to Seoul?”
This guy had always worn a servile expression and spoke in a soft voice. Was it all an act?
However, I couldn’t even feel the slightest bit of subservience from him. He just smiled as if he was genuinely happy and cheerful.
“Let me tell you an interesting story. That bitch who committed suicide? She actually went to the hospital I recommended and had her horns removed there. Isn’t it so funny? That woman acted so proud and arrogant, but the moment her horns were cut off, she became all depressed.”
Creak-!
I gritted my teeth as I heard his words.
‘He’s just trying to provoke you into losing your cool. Ignore it.’ I kept repeating those words in my mind.
“Fascinating, isn’t it? Cutting off the horns on your head will drive you mad. Soon, you’ll experience it as well. You can look forward to it~”
Hiding in the darkness of the alley, I looked for an opportunity. The moment that man turned away, I would sprint in the opposite direction. I had no idea where I was, but I could figure that out later once I got out of there.
And then, the man passed by the entrance of the alley where I hid.
Now, I just needed to hide a little longer before I could run away!
“Ah! Actually, I already knew where you were hiding.”
All of a sudden, a rustling sound erupted right behind me.
Startled, I tried to turn my head.
Bang-!
But before I could even shift my gaze, a high-pitched metallic sound rang out behind me.
Suddenly, my body lost all strength, leaving me helpless on the ground.
“Come to think of it, your sister was also captured just like you. Seems like you sisters share the same stupidity.”
As I struggled to look up, the sight of a baseball bat swinging toward my head filled my vision.
***
Bucheon Research Institute.
Nestled in a forgotten corner of Bucheon City stood as a relic of the past, abandoned and devoid of life.
Yet, inexplicably, the derelict research institute suddenly regained its life.
The shabby and dirty exterior was restored to its former glory and the once empty halls were bustling with employees.
This strange occurrence happened in the blink of an eye, raising some eyebrows. However, most people simply shrugged it off, saying stuff like ‘Construction is really fast these days, huh?’ and moving on.
The only thing that seemed strange was the fact that all of the employees were wearing the same, very gloomy expression.
In the basement of the lab, where this gloomy atmosphere lingered, the director of the institute hummed a tune, his merry steps punctuated by the tap of his cane.
With each cheerful movement, he toured the containment rooms one by one, looking genuinely happy.
Hanging on the walls were numerous golden hearts, akin to trophies, and one of them melted with a resounding bursting.
The director observed it with an impassive gaze.
“The research institute was discovered much sooner than I expected. Well, it matters not.”
The containment rooms he inspected teemed with individuals—humans with golden horns protruding from their heads.
“After all, I already have enough materials. Now, let us begin the next experiment.”
Upon the director’s command, researchers emerged from the shadows, forcibly dragging the humans with golden horns somewhere else.
“Let us embark on the research of the lovely nature of humanity.”
Yet, despite the director’s words, his face betrayed only cruelty.
***
Yerin was shattered.
“Reaper~”
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined she would become like this.
“Our Reaper won’t disappear, right?”
Just what on earth happened?
Whenever she sat down, she would hug me from behind and bury her face in my hair.
When she moved, she would cradle me in her arms or tuck me under her armpit.
To be honest, it was uncomfortable, but the weight of her emotions transmitted to me was so profound that I just left it alone.
Hmm, maybe this was because of the golden dolls I had given to her.
Hah, even though it was annoying, I decided to provide some “special services” until Yerin returned to normal.
I turned over and hugged her gently.
It was a special service that would only stay on the menu until Yerin returned to normal.
***
Inside the Director’s Office of the Sehee Research Institute, Jungrwi and Sehee sat facing each other.
“The cost of managing the Cute Puppy is practically non-existent, huh? At this rate, we might as well officially adopt the dog, even if it seems a little excessive. What do you think?” Sehee remarked, tapping her fingers on the document before her.
“After the Gray Reaper ‘trained’ the Cute Puppy, it became calmer. It was to the point that I could hardly tell that it was the same infamous Cute Puppy. If this continues, even if It means going above and beyond by taking it in, I believe we would be able to make enough profit,” Jungrwi gave his opinion, wearing his usual stiff expression.
“It listens well even when the Reaper’s not present, huh?”
“Yes. Perhaps the fear of the Reaper made it act cooperatively even when the Reaper was not around. But…”
“But what?”
“This data was collected while the Reaper was away from the Institute.”
Jungrwi handed over a report, containing simple text and a few attached photos, to Sehee.
“Measurements of the Cute Puppy’s body length?”
“Yes, as soon as the Gray Reaper completely left the institute, the puppy started to grow in size.”
“What’s the problem with that? Wasn’t the cute puppy originally around 50cm long?”
“Yes, when we first received the Cute Puppy, it was 50 cm long. But after being trained by the Gray Reaper, it shrunk to 20 cm. And since the Gray Reaper completely left the Institute, it has been growing 1 cm per day.”
“Has the size increase caused any problems?”
“Yes, we have seen that as its size increases, so does its aggression. However, as soon as the Gray Reaper returned, it shrunk back to 20 cm. This is something that must be taken into consideration if we decide to take the Cute Puppy in.”
“Well, let’s not forget the lizard that the Reaper brought, only to completely forget about it and abandon it after just three days. There’s no guarantee that the Reaper won’t do the same with the Cute Puppy.”
“Fortunately, the Gray Reaper still finds the Cute Puppy interesting. After all, it even woke the Cute Puppy from its sleep in the kennel and forced it to walk on two legs for no apparent reason.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen the Reaper bother an Object so much. Typically it just shows interest at first before quickly getting bored. Is there a particular reason why it didn’t like the Cute Puppy in particular? Come to think of it, the Reaper seems to hate all Objects that look like dogs.”
Sehee gathered the documents, placed them neatly in a folder, and stood up.
“Since we can’t make a decision right now, we should at least try to find out how long the Gray Reaper remains interested in the Cute Puppy.”
With that, the conversation between Jungrwi and Sehee came to an end.
***
I followed my senior as he walked aimlessly.
“Sunbae~ can we stop and head back now?”
“If you’re tired, you should return first. I’ll go after receiving the request.”
Since he said he would be leaving to find a request, I thought he had been contacted by someone…
Yet, he just walked around while mumbling strange nonsense.
We weren’t actively seeking out requests or talking to people, we just walked around with no clear purpose.
Wouldn’t it be more productive to stand in front of the office phone and wait for a request instead of aimlessly walking around like this?
But my senior kept walking.
Even as the sun began to set on the horizon and night fell, he showed no signs of stopping.
It didn’t seem like he had any destination in mind.
Forward, forward, forward. He just kept walking forward.
It had already been a while since we left Seoul.
What kind of request could we possibly receive outside the city in the middle of the night, with hardly anyone around?
Furthermore, the drizzling rain made the streets even emptier.
“Oh! There’s an incident.”
My senior suddenly said while looking at something.
I followed his line of sight and saw a woman being struck with a baseball bat, collapsing to the ground in a dark alley.
“I’ll handle it, so just take a video for evidence!”
My senior’s voice reached my ears, but for some reason, my head was throbbing, and I couldn’t hear him clearly.
I reached behind me and took out a familiar tool.
It was a hammer.
As I felt a familiar grip in my hand, I swung the hammer and charged forward.
At that moment, I swear I heard my senior sighing behind me.
***
Sometimes, my junior went crazy in violent situations.
But that crazy brat was a better fighter than me.
Sometimes it made me wonder whether she was influenced by some Object.
I took my time and filmed from behind as she unleashed her wild fury.
The video clearly captured the three men, stunned and fleeing as they tried to kidnap a woman.
When the men saw a madman swinging a hammer and kicking the wall, they all started running.
Scary. My angry junior was terrifying.
Leaving behind my panting junior, I approached the unconscious girl and gently shook her to wake her up.
As she woke up with a blank expression on her face, I handed her a business card.
“Hello, nice to meet you. Do you happen to have a request for us?”
The woman accepted the business card, but she clearly seemed to be extremely confused about the situation.
