episode_0089

Before we knew it, it was closing time at the lab.

However, I didn’t go out using the excuse of cleaning up.

Instead, he was sitting at the bar, counting the number of researchers leaving work.

Usually, there is a rule that civil servants of the association are required to leave work at 6 o’clock.

The same goes for research labs.

If it were a research lab, they would need someone on standby all the time, but they decided to let the rankers living in Lab 2 do it instead.

It actually turned out well for me.

Because there are fewer people to ignore.

I take out the potions I prepared yesterday from my clinking bag.

I got up to deliver it to them directly.

And then naturally I headed to the lab.

Misha was unable to join this procession.

Because I rushed to the association headquarters after receiving a call from Representative Park.

It’s better this way.

Because I was already uncomfortable with the constant watching from the side.

This is a good time to get a clear understanding of the structure of this place.

Fortunately, the door to Lab 2 is open for commuting to and from the lab.

However, the third door where my older sister was was firmly closed.

I have to get back in there somehow.

We can’t cut off their fingers, and how can we get past fingerprint recognition…

Let’s think about that later.

Because investigating the rankers comes first.

I first headed to Misha’s room, number 03.

Her room was wide open, so I didn’t have any high expectations.

It’s like a very ordinary girl’s room.

I wonder how it can be so ordinary.

Dolls lined up on the bed.

Burdensome clothes, such as maid outfits and princess dresses.

And… to the pedestal where I’m holding the cocktail…

How on earth was this made?

Even our height is the same.

I shook my head and left Misha’s room, feeling goosebumps running down my spine.

Across from room 03 is room 04.

It’s also very ordinary, like room 03.

There’s nothing special about it, just a bed, a desk, and a closet.

Except for one thing.

A machine that looks like a massage chair.

There is a VR device and a computer monitor screen attached to it.

I immediately realize that it’s a game console.

Virtual reality, something like that.

In front of the game console, there are various cookie crumbs and cans of caffeine rolling around.

During the day, you guard the front of the lab, and at night, you just do this.

I made a note on my phone that she was a huge game addict.

As I was about to leave the room, my eyes suddenly caught sight of the clothes piled on the bed.

Among them were bras.

I didn’t know because I always wore a hat pulled down low and a mask…

Well, the voice was neutral.

I came out into the hallway and looked around the rest of the rooms.

Now 06, 08 and 09.

The masterminds who killed me and my colleagues.

From now on is the most important.

She tied her hair tightly and held the potion politely with both hands.

Since room 08 is locked, we head to room 06 first.

Music can be heard from the room.

They’re inside.

I took a deep breath and knocked before entering.

But perhaps because of the loud singing, no one responded to my knock.

I have no choice but to open the door and go in myself.

At that moment, I was startled.

Room 06 was very spacious, unlike any other rooms I’ve seen so far.

“Gym…?”

The room is filled with a variety of exercise equipment.

There, 09 is lying on the gym ball and looking at his cell phone.

And 06.

A person with bizarre physical abilities who controls the muscles of his entire body.

He has his head shaved and is doing chin-ups.

He had ten 20kg weight plates hanging from his legs.

His angry back muscles radiate heat.

It feels like I’m seeing a giant beast, not a human.

You’ve gotten bigger since I last saw you…

They didn’t just play.

I was desperately trying to maintain my ranking.

“What are you?”

09, who was rolling around on the gym ball, looks at me.

I look down at her with a blank expression, holding a cocktail potion.

“Oh, is that the bartender? Siho…”

“Bartender?”

06, who was doing chin-ups at 09’s words, asks back.

He counted to 50 and came down from the pole.

A thud echoes through the room as the heavy discs hit the floor.

“Uh. You’re going to supply us with potions.”

“What, weren’t you supposed to make potions with that arm?”

06 points to 09’s left arm.

Then the red-eyed woman shook her head and waved her arms.

“No, I tried, but it still doesn’t work.”

What was once my arm is twitching.

I stared blankly at the stitching that joined it to 09’s shoulder.

“Why are you scared?”

09 is waving his arms and making a fuss.

I nod in response.

“Don’t worry. I don’t touch a bitch who’s helpful.”

09’s red eyes flash between the outstretched fingers.

It’s exactly the same as what I saw back then.

“Thank you.”

If I had met her in the past, I would have definitely looked scared or angry.

But, right now I…

Just smile.

And hand it over.

A special potion I made.

Rating: ★★★★

Effect: Increases Strength by ??. Decreases Composure by ??. Lasts for 1 hour.

Information: A cocktail based on vodka and tomato juice. Similar to Red Eye, but completely different. The only people who have given Siho a cocktail based on tomato are Red-Sa and 09.

“Hey- Look at the color of this. It’s red, so it really looks like a potion.”

09 accepts the potion as if he was impressed.

06 also seems to be interested in this and approaches us, dragging the original plate.

“This is the first potion I’m giving to you two.”

“What is the effect?”

“Hmm- It’s a strength boost. You’ll probably feel full of energy right away after drinking it.”

I raise my finger and smile brightly.

Seemingly satisfied with the word strength, 06 takes a stance to drink straight away.

“Just a moment.”

“What? Isn’t that what you gave me to drink right now?”

“Eat it when it matters, not now.”

“When is it important?”

06 and 09 blankly repeated what I said.

I whispered to those two rankers.

“For example, raid.”

“Where do we have to raid?”

09 laughed off my words as if they were nothing special.

06 is the same.

“Yeah, we don’t do inefficient things like raids.”

“So, what do you do?”

When I asked, the rankers hesitated for a moment to answer.

Their faces, which had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, soon became expressionless.

“Hmm- Farming?”

06 left those words and opened his eyes thinly like a snake.

It’s so bizarre that it’s almost as if it’s not human.

“Anyway, drink it gratefully.”

The man left those words and pulled the cap off the potion.

And then sniff.

The refreshing scent of tomatoes rises gently.

Soon, he decides that there is no problem with the ingredients and drinks the potion with all his might.

His Adam’s apple twitches uncontrollably.

“06, how about it?”

The woman, who hasn’t even opened the lid yet, asks him.

Then 06 took a sip of his drink and looked at the empty potion bottle.

“This… definitely seems effective.”

The man’s skin begins to turn slightly red.

He gasped for breath and clenched his biceps.

Then, the already large muscles become even more tense, to the point where the nerves start to pop out.

I turned my head away from that disgusting sight.

“Wow, it’s real!”

09’s eyes widen at the effect that can be seen with the naked eye.

She also followed the man and drank a lot of potions.

Soon her skin also turned red and her body became stiff.

“Hey, I can’t do this damn gym anymore!”

“Do nothing. In times like these, you need to put more stress on your muscles!”

The two people shouted happily at each other.

I looked at that sight with pleasure.

“Hey, bartender!”

“Yes…?”

I reflexively responded to 06’s shout.

Then the man spoke to me, out of breath.

“I’ll supply this every day from now on. Got it?”

If you are a civil servant, you will naturally find the increased workload annoying.

But I smiled at him.

“Okay, I’ll pay you twice a day ‘every day’ from now on.”

“I like you. If you continue to show us good behavior, the rewards you’ll receive will be countless.”

06 points at me with his finger.

09 also shouts in an excited voice as if agreeing with this.

“Yeah- With this level of ability, maybe we can accept you as a member later?”

I bowed my head and said it was an honor.

And then I leisurely left the room and went back to the lounge bar.

I repeated this for a month.

That’s how I was adjusting to life at the lab.

Eventually, all the members of the Counters started taking my potions every day.

Each for different reasons.

But just one person.

Misha alone didn’t want my potion.

She just watched me bartend and hand out potions to her colleagues.

I tried offering her the potion directly, but Misha would never drink it.

Honey, you don’t need potions.

That bothered me a little, but I tried not to show it.

Anyway, she leaves her post once a week to report the lab’s performance to Rep. Park.

If we carry out the operation that day, we can easily avoid Misha.

After work, I went back to Moment.

Even when I was at a familiar store that I hadn’t visited in a long time, all I could think about was the research lab.

I checked the route by taking notes frequently.

Senior Ji-wook looked at me like that with concern.

That’s because my expression, which used to always be cheerful while bartending, has become very dark lately.

And it wasn’t just the senior who felt that way, it was other people too.

Not only the enemy, but even Anna, who is emotionally clumsy.

She came into the store while I was sitting alone at the bar table, playing with my pen.

The woman with white eyes came to me and sat down next to me.

“What the hell are you thinking.”

“What is..?”

I closed my notebook without even looking at Anna.

Then the killer put his hand on my shoulder and forced me to look him in the eye.

“You go to the Counters’ lab every day. It’s probably in a bar, so why go there?”

Anna persistently asked me how I knew.

I just kept smiling when I saw her like that.

“I’m just treating people who are tired from working to a drink. What’s wrong with that?”

“Really…?”

Anna’s expression didn’t change at all when she saw my smile.

I stared at her with that serious look on my face.

“Really, is everything okay?”

“That’s right…”

Eventually, the woman with white eyes let me go.

And then he looked at me vaguely with his eyebrows furrowed.

“You have the same expression as your sister.”

“My sister…?”

“Yeah, when Seonye lied to me, her left eye always shook.”

Anna’s finger points to my tear duct.

The corners of her mouth twitch bitterly.

“Do you still have a secret you can’t tell me…?”

secret…

I was unable to respond for a moment because of those two words that were piercing into my head.

Seonye kept the lie hidden from Anna until the very end, and only revealed it to her when she was about to die.

I might be like that too.

but…

Even so, I can’t say anything yet.

Maybe I’ve gone beyond a simple illusion and become her real younger sister.

Because what I do is exactly the same as hers.

“I’m sorry… Please wait a moment.”

“Are you telling me to wait again?”

Anna muttered in a dry voice.

Then I turned my head and blankly stared at the counter where I often stood.

Today, her back looks so delicate.

I muttered with a trembling voice.

“You’ll get a chance to talk soon.”

Anna turned her head again after hearing those words.

Her cloudy white eyes twinkle.

“Okay. I’ll trust you and wait.”

The white-eyed woman nodded, holding my hand tightly.

She decided to believe her sister’s words one more time.