episode_0039

A resume with Hansiho’s name flutters in the wind.

Director Tolkien sends that piece of paper flying out the window.

The resume leisurely rises and heads towards the horizon where a motorboat passed by.

The paper soon falls onto the sea, where the waves are lapping.

Gradually it darkens, sinking into the water.

Following those waves, just a little further, you can see the breakwater.

The waves crash against the breakwater.

If you navigate through them, a small port comes into view.

The motorboat that arrived there soon shuts off.

Two girls disembark from the boat.

In the foggy harbor, a man awaits the girls.

It’s Lee Daehyuk, a friend of the cafeteria uncle.

With a work knife at his waist, he smokes a cigarette.

Soon, he waves to the girls.

“Are these the kids who escaped from the facility?”

He flicks his cigarette to the ground.

Then, he extends his hand to me, the first one to disembark.

“…”

However, I offer no response to his handshake request.

He’s a stranger, after all.

“What, afraid of my smell or something?”

He casually wipes his palm on his coat as if showing off.

Afterward, he extends his hand to me again.

“Haha… She’s just very cautious. It’s us, Mr. Daehyuk.”

Sunye interlocks her arm with mine and responds to him.

“That makes sense. Follow me; the car is ready.”

He points to a blue truck barely visible.

Sunye follows the man ahead.

But I stand still, not following them.

“You go ahead. I’m not going.”

“What do you mean? We should go together…”

Sunye looks puzzled by my reaction, glancing between the man and me.

“Hanging out with losers like you, I’ll pass.”

I brush off her touch.

And slowly, I start walking alone.

Sunye watches me with a stern expression.

Of course, I’m grateful to her.

Thanks to her, I escaped that hellish facility and finally gained freedom.

But that’s where it ends.

Who knows what trouble might arise if I associate with her, someone familiar with the facility director.

Since being administered drugs, I’ve never been wrong about such ominous premonitions.

This time will be no different, for sure.

I gaze slowly at the horizon.

A city shrouded in mist stretches out.

I don’t know what lies at the end.

But I walk steadily towards it alone.

“Go.”

I pause briefly at the cynical voice.

It’s the man who was waiting for us.

Arrogantly, he observes me with folded arms.

And he says, “If you keep wandering around like this, you won’t last long. No need to waste time on someone who’ll die early.”

As if he already knows what will happen to me, he taunts me alone.

Annoyed by his arrogant attitude, I turn sharply towards him.

“How much do you really know about me to talk like that? You’re like a pig sticking out of a ship.”

“Talking big, aren’t you? You have no idea about the current situation outside, right? They say someone like you will die within three days. I wouldn’t bet even a puff of my cigarette on you.”

Unbelievable.

A guy who can’t even dodge a single bullet is giving advice.

Both Sunye and this man are such hypocrites.

“I could easily pierce your belly right now. Watch your mouth.”

I stare at his thick belly and say.

Upon hearing this, he confidently steps closer as if challenging me.

“Shall we do this? If you manage to hit me once, I’ll take back what I said. But if you can’t, how about you train with me before leaving?”

His arrogant demeanor makes my lips curl involuntarily.

He gestures for me to try hitting him with a punch.

“You think you’re something.”

I accept his audacious proposal.

Slowly stepping forward, I secretly close the distance between us.

And when I reach a reachable distance.

In an instant, I strike his nose with my fist.

“—!”

His fist struck directly at his nose.

However, in that moment, his bulky frame swiftly twisted to evade the punch.

The man, now in a weaving stance, plunged straight for my solar plexus.

A sudden impact made my head ring.

Nevertheless, I clenched my teeth and immediately feigned collapsing, executing a back kick.

“Just as impressive as I’ve heard about your physical abilities.”

The man remarked casually as he effortlessly dodged my counterattack.

Next, he promptly pinned down my foot.

The shock caused my body to involuntarily stagger.

With a jaw already trembling, filthy sneakers came crashing down.

I couldn’t dodge that attack.

No, I couldn’t avoid it.

Before my mind could register the need to evade, my jaw had completely turned around.

Even as I fell, my mind was filled with various thoughts.

How can someone with such a bulky physique move so quickly?

I had never seen someone so agile even in the facility’s combat arena.

My occiput slammed against the asphalt ground.

At that moment, I could no longer think of anything.

“Mister, she might die at this rate!”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t seen anyone easily die after taking that drug.”

The man smiled leisurely while carrying the fallen Anna on his shoulders.

Sunye anxiously gazed at the unconscious Anna, hands tightly clenched.

The three of them boarded the truck.

The blue truck headed into the desolate city.

It crossed the long Incheon Bridge towards the mainland.

The exact location of the mainland was unknown.

The fog was thick enough to obscure everything.

“…”

Upon waking up, I didn’t see the ceiling of the facility.

Instead, unfamiliar lights greeted me.

I immediately sat up.

“Where did that bastard go…”

Having woken up from sleep, I quickly scanned my surroundings.

Warm sunlight poured in through the window.

The sight of the sun, so long unseen, stung my eyes.

I must have been fighting that arrogant man…

Behind the man’s face rose the image of myself being ruthlessly trampled.

Yes, I was thoroughly beaten.

I, who had never lost even in the facility’s combat arena, how did I end up like this?

Anger surged within me.

I wanted to smash that arrogant face.

That anger propelled me to rise.

I went out of the room.

There were stairs leading down the corridor.

Descending the stairs, I saw numerous tables and chairs.

I soon spotted Sunye diligently cleaning a table.

“Are you awake?”

She greeted me with a smile.

What’s so amusing that she’s smiling like that?

Her constant foolish giggling is ridiculous.

Yet, at the same time, it’s pitiful.

Behind that face lies numerous secrets.

She seems to have adapted to life outside, wearing an apron.

Her neatly cut short hair fluttered.

Ignoring her, I surveyed the shop.

A sizable bar.

Behind the counter stood the man who subdued me.

He leisurely hummed a tune while polishing a glass.

“Your recovery ability is truly remarkable. I thought I had beaten you properly.”

He chuckled and pointed at my jaw.

“…”

I glared at him coldly.

In response, he feigned fear, crossing his hands lightly over his chest.

“Why so menacing. Are you really that angry?”

Of course.

As if he was done joking, he lowered his guard.

Then, he looked at me with a somewhat serious expression.

“If your opponent hadn’t been me but a Ranker sent by the facility, you would be dead by now.”

“Do you know about the facility that held me captive?”

“I couldn’t not know. I was a hunter employed there.”

He rolled up his shirt sleeve as if bursting with something.

Revealing a tattoo on his forearm.

’07.’

A number.

A simple black tattoo.

“I witnessed all the experiments conducted at the facility. That’s why I quit my job and now help the kids who escaped.”

“Why? Those kids aren’t your own.”

This man with a wide reach is utterly incomprehensible to me.

I can’t understand the cafeteria owner, and I can’t understand Sunye.

Why is he so kind to the extent of risking his life for me?

“Perhaps it’s a sense of guilt. I distinctly remember hearing it was just a training facility when I was hired. But once I got there, it wasn’t a simple training facility.”

He rolls up his remaining sleeve.

Then, confidently crossing his arms, he looked at me.

“I have a daughter too. She’s just 15 years old and about to enter the academy. If my daughter had been trapped in a place like that, how would I have felt?”

The man pulled out a bottle.

Vodka.

“She must have endured hellish days.”

Whether he imagined that hell or drank vodka to forget, he repeatedly poured himself a drink.

“Someday, if something like that happens to my daughter, even if it’s someone else, I always do this hoping someone will save her.”

“That person won’t be me.”

To dispel futile illusions, I coldly told the man.

“What if I spare you only to lose control and kill your daughter?”

“Don’t worry. At least you’re not the type to do that.”

With eyes full of conviction, the man poured vodka into a glass.

Then, he glanced at Sunye discreetly.

“As long as an innocent child like Sunye is around you, you’ll never do such a thing.”

Upon hearing his words, Sunye blushed.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled softly at me.

“…”

She’s pretty.

Even if my mind is clouded by drugs, I know that much is true.

But that’s all there is to it.

“Well then, now that we’re up, could you please cover the meal expenses?”

The man shrugged nonchalantly.

Then, he took out two longswords from under the counter.

“Why swords all of a sudden?”

“Sunye has decided to pursue the path of a bartender in my shop. On the other hand, you don’t seem interested in that… Fighting seems more up your alley, doesn’t it?”

Since there was no room for argument, I nodded.

“Then learning to be a hunter is your path.”

The man tossed one sword to me.

I accepted it in surprise and followed him outside.

An alleyway.

There’s nothing here that could be helpful for training.

“Alright, let’s start from here.”

He yawned and sat on a bucket.

The bucket creaked under his weight.

“What are we starting?”

I have no idea what he’s talking about in the middle of nowhere.

“Well, let’s start with downward strikes. Let’s just do 2000 for the first day.”

I looked down at the sword in my hand.

It’s quite heavy, perhaps because it’s a real sword.

“I’ll watch your form for the first 100, then you swing it yourself. After that, we have to go check on our daughter.”

I firmly gripped the sword.

Sure.

At least for now, listening to this man won’t hurt me.

Who wouldn’t take advantage of free swordsmanship lessons?

Swinging with force, cutting through the air.

Thinking of Tolkin and that Ranker I want to kill.

The man watched silently.

“You’re not swinging to kill someone. Focusing on murder makes your blade unsteady and clouds your judgment.”

His words made me pause in mid-swing.

If not to kill someone, then why swing the sword at all?

As if answering, the man replied quietly.

“It’s for the sake of someone important.”

“You speak in clichés.”

“Really, I’ve survived this long with that mindset. It’s an important lesson learned through experience.”

The man shrugged earnestly.

“Who is this person exactly?”

When I asked abruptly, the man paused for a moment.

After scratching his chin, he finally chose his words carefully.

“It’s someone you can rely on and trust. Usually born out of trust.”

Relying and trusting someone.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his words.

“Why are you laughing?”

The man asked, seeming annoyed.

“It’s inevitable, isn’t it, that in a relationship where you can rely on each other, there should be no secrets? How can you risk your life when you’re in the dark about each other?”

The man listening to me sealed his lips.

Then, he gradually took a deep breath.

I gaze intently at him, who has become cold.

It feels good to have properly pricked his arrogance.

“Am I right?”

“Yes, you’re not wrong…”

He silently takes out a cigarette.

And calmly lights it.

“But… everyone has tangled secrets that are difficult to explain.”

The smoke from the cigarette rises into the air.

I stare blankly at the smoke.

“Do you have such a secret too?”

“I do. I still haven’t told my daughter where I used to work.”

He flicks the ash to the ground.

The red embers falling to the floor gradually fade away.

“But… I will surely tell her someday.”

“…”

“So, please wait. Trust that person.”

I briefly thought of Sun-ye.

Could her secret be so complex that it’s hard for me to tell right away?

If it’s beneficial for all of us…

Should I wait for a while?

With that thought in mind, I swung my sword over 4,000 times, surpassing 2,000.

After being drugged, my mind became muddled, and I needed more time than others to understand Sun-ye.