KEG 49
“Can you tell me what’s going on right now?”
Baek Yejun didn’t answer. He couldn’t even take his eyes off the bread.
He acts just like a brat. A cunning, spoiled brat, at that.
I sighed inwardly, placed a pack of cigarettes on the display case, and shoved a bag of packaged bread into his arms.
“I stole it. That’s why I threw it at you.”
“But you paid for it with cigarettes, how can you call that stealing?”
“Whether it’s theft or not is up to the victim to decide.”
The guy laughed as he rustled the bread bag.
“Husband, as long as you’re around, I certainly won’t starve to death.”
Forget this husband nonsense, I just wished he would explain the situation already. I pulled Baek Yejun toward me and led him into the smoking booth.
“Trying to kiss me again~?”
After confirming that no one was coming, I grabbed the guy by the collar and told him to speak honestly. Only then did he laugh a few times and begin to explain.
“I think this place is about to turn into a dungeon.”
“Don’t dungeons just appear when the air suddenly tears apart?”
“That used to be the standard, but these days, there are more dungeons that transform gradually like this, or where monsters suddenly pour out. It seems like both monsters and dungeons are evolving.”
That grim news made the back of my neck stiffen. That explained why there was no cell service inside the rest area and why there were no people around.
Everyone must have evacuated in a hurry.
“There are several civilians here, including some who are injured. We need to get out of here immediately.”
“This place hasn’t fully turned into a dungeon yet. We just need to find the boss before it wakes up and take it out.”
“Do we have to fight?”
Baek Yejun sat on a bench in the smoking booth and tapped the ground a few times with his foot. He seemed to be testing the waters, then continued speaking.
“No, the boss here is still docile.”
Then he looked at me and tilted his head to the side.
“Should we take care of it before it wakes up?”
“Yeah.”
“A kiss?”
Just because I rubbed my lips against his once, he thinks he owns me.
“I’m a man.”
“Then how’d you kiss me?”
“It’s doable if you squint a little.”
“Then you can squint again and kiss me this time too.”
I had no idea what he wanted.
He didn’t seem to like me, nor did he seem sexually frustrated. It just felt like he wanted to keep testing me.
Maybe he’d stop if I made things boring.
“2 billion won.”
“Huh?”
“Deduct the commission fee from the 2 billion.”
As he figured out what that meant, he let out a deflating sigh.
I still haven’t received the 2 billion won from Baek Yejun. I didn’t know if he was just stalling or if there was actually a legal issue, but the payment had been delayed.
Those who rip me off never meet a good end.
I hope he pays up before my patience runs out.
“Hyung, are you hiring me right now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m expensive~”
“So am I.”
He shook his head as if admitting defeat, stood up, and handed the bread bag to me. The bread inside the bag was still warm.
“Can’t you just leave without me~?”
He started spouting nonsense like an urban legend, claiming that if he missed the train at the rest stop, he wouldn’t be able to go home and would have to work here.
I figured the boss was at the gas station next to the rest stop because he headed toward it.
“Have you found Hunter Baek Yejun?”
As I went to the cafeteria where people were gathered, the nurse asked me a question.
I explained that he had stepped away to take out the boss, since this place was about to become a fungeon. The Espers said they’d step in if support was needed, while the doctor and nurse expressed concern for the patient.
“She can hold out for a day or so… but the situation isn’t good right now. This isn’t a hygienic environment, and we’re running low on blood packs. And….”
The doctor stared at the ground, then raised his hand to touch his forehead. He seemed to be deep in thought. The crackling sound of the electric heater at the rest stop seemed particularly loud.
Just as the atmosphere began to feel heavy and oppressive.
“Oh, the driver’s here! Sir, are you feeling okay?”
The driver wearing a yellow raincoat appeared.
It was the same man who had gone into the restroom and hadn’t come out for quite some time.
Squelch, squelch.
“Driver…?”
With yellow mucus still smeared around his mouth, he approached. His rubber boots scraped against the floor.
“Everyone, stars have appeared in the sky.”
The driver started saying strange things.
“I received a revelation from those star.”
Crunch–
The driver’s neck spun a full circle.
The medical staff gasped at the sight, and the team members stepped forward cautiously.
Crunch– grind–
Two circles, three circles.
“The grace of Taurus.”
After spinning several times, his neck and his body were contorted and stretched out in a grotesque way.
His body stretched like taffy, unimpeded by the resistance of cartilage and bone.
“I am the apostle of the one who must not be named.”
Yellow mucus overflowed from the surface of his skin, and golden particles sparkled whenever light hit them.
“Team members, what are your names and abilities?”
I asked, pushing the doctor and nurse behind me.
“Kim Somin. Ice.”
“I’m Woo Janghyuk. I’m a Tamer.”
A chilling energy gathered at Kim Somin’s fingertips, and at Woo Janghyuk’s gesture, a blurry gray wolf made of smoke appeared.
“Is there anyone who can drive the doctor car?”
Swoosh!
Boom!!
Just then, tentacle-like appendages extending from the driver and struck the floor right next to the doctor’s feet.
“Ugh…!”
The floor caved in. The doctor barely managed to swallow the scream that threatened to burst from his throat.
A terrible stench emanated from the spot where the tentacles had passed.
“I’ve watched it plenty from the sidelines. I’ll make sure to drive it somehow!”
Kim Somin shouted as she rushed toward the driver. Seeing this, Woo Janghyuk waved his hands to control the wolf.
Frost covered the floor of the rest area, and the walls vibrated at the howling of thr wolf.
Thud! Crash!
The chairs and tables inside the rest stop restaurant were pushed, thrown, and flew around due to the impact.
“Let’s go. Let’s get to the car.”
At my words, the doctor and nurse crouched down and moved quickly. I followed behind, protecting them from the rear.
“Wait a moment!”
The doctor, who had been running toward the car, suddenly turned around and said.
“If we go to the car now, won’t that put the patient in danger?”
It wasn’t an entirely implausible scenario.
If the team members failed to stop the driver and he gave chase, we would all die.
“You’re right. It’s not a safe situation.”
“We don’t have any fighters with us right now. If an accident happens while we’re moving, we won’t be able to handle it.”
When I pointed out that it wouldn’t be safe, the doctor brought up the absence of combatants.
Minimizing risk as much as possible and seeking a path that would save the patient’s life.
That was his way of doing things.
“I’ll go along with your decision. What do you want to do?”
I asked the doctor, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said,
“Let’s find Hunter Baek Yejun. Going to the patient’s side right now would only put us in danger.”
I didn’t know exactly where Baek Yejun was. All I knew was that he’d disappeared in the direction of the gas station, so it was uncertain whether we could find him.
But one thing was certain.
“Yejun-hyungje will take out the boss and come to the car. It would be best to hide in a safe place where we can see the car.”
I told him not to leave me behind, so he definitely would come back.
We stopped for a moment to assess the situation and look around for a place to hide.
“Ah, that spot over there looks goo–“
Thud.
“Ah, ugh, kuh…!”
A foul-smelling tentacle pierced the nurse’s chest. It must have punctured her lung, because the sound of her breathing turned strange.
The nurse writhed in agony for a moment before going limp.
She died in a short time, without even realizing she was dying.
“Huh?”
The doctor’s body froze. He stood in a daze, unable to breathe or assess the situation. His gaze was fixed solely on the nurse.
“Run away!!”
Behind him, Kim Somin, covered in blood, shouted desperately.
However, the doctor still could not recover from the shock. It seemed that even for him, who had experienced much death, there were situations he could not handle.
“Doctor, we have to go. Pull yourself together.”
“Ah… Ahh…”
Slap!
I slapped the doctor, who couldn’t even answer properly. He still seemed out of his mind; his eyes were looking at me, but they were unfocused.
Slap!
I hit him one more time. My palm stung from the slap. If he didn’t snap out of it, I’d keep hitting him until he did.
With that thought, I raised my hand once more.
“Wait, wait, just a moment…!”
The doctor wiped the blood running from his nose and grabbed my hand. He still didn’t seem to grasp the situation, but it looked like his head was starting to spin.
“We must move now.”
The light faded from the eyes of the nurse lying on the floor. The doctor must know it too.
There was no hope.
“Doctor.”
I called out to him as he floundered in despair and pain. He, who had been wandering aimlessly, looked at me.
“We have to do what we can.”
The doctor’s trembling subsided, and his drooping eyebrows drew together.
Without a word, he removed the bloodstained name tag and the lanyard holder with a character design attached to the nurse’s chest.
“I know. Let’s go.”
We ran without looking back. The situation was too dire to look back at, and we had no time to spare.
With a heart somewhere between indifference and urgency, we looked only ahead.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!