Chapter 495: For Tomorrow
Eileen met my gaze.
"I'm fine with it."
"No, I haven't even said anything yet."
"I'm fine with it either way."
"At least hear me out first. The stares from the others are getting a bit intense as it is."
Just look at the Response Team's stares.
Seems Eileen is quite popular.
They're all looking at me like I'm a man trying to marry their cute daughter.
Which means they look like they want to kill me.
"It could be dangerous."
"Was running away when the cave collapsed last time not dangerous?"
"I suppose you have a point."
"If you wish, and provided our team members permit it, you can also receive their help."
"That's really not something I should be asking for."
I have no idea what might happen; it would be utterly wrong of me to recklessly ask them for help.
"If the Team Leader wishes..."
"If the Team Leader is going, it feels a bit off for us not to..."
"I didn't entrust my life to him, so why should you follow my choice?"
The Response Team members muttered among themselves, and Eileen sighed before answering.
"Well, I do owe him my life."
"I don't want your help out of a sense of obligation or duty. Just do as you please."
She stated firmly, almost declaratively, as she looked at me.
"Anyway, I'll be there when you need me, so it's fine."
"Thank you."
"I'm doing it because I want to, so it's fine."
Eileen smiled softly, and the stares from the other Response Team members turned back to me.
Stares that seemed to tell me to get lost.
I guess I should go.
"Right, well. I'll be going then."
"Okay. See you later."
Eileen waved her hand. I waved back to her and then moved towards the next person.
*
"Of course!"
The Branch Chief nodded.
"I'm all for it!"
"That's a relief."
"After all, I have a pretty good idea what Kim Jae-heon is worried about."
The Branch Chief's gaze turned to me.
"And one of the Branch Chief's duties is to prevent the end of the world!"
"Personally, I'd like to call other Management Bureau branches too, but..."
"I'll do my best, but there would need to be a lot more people trying to prevent the end of the world for that to really work."
The end of the world seems to show up every other day. Is this really going to be okay?
"But if it's someone like Kang-byeon, then as Kim Jae-heon fears, it's quite, no... it's an enormous threat. So I will try to call the other branch chiefs."
She nodded, then looked at me.
"You seem very nervous, don't you?"
"...I suppose so."
"Don't worry too much."
I felt a cold sensation on my hand.
The Branch Chief was holding my hand.
"I know you're worried, but still. Things have a way of working out, you know?"
"I doubt that will be the case."
"No, they will. There's no such thing as a situation that's completely hopeless."
The Branch Chief smiled, raising her index finger.
"People often misunderstand something—it's a very common misconception. They think, 'If this fails, we all die,' or 'It's all over.'"
"..."
"But, no. That's not true."
She shook her head.
"A path always reveals itself somewhere. Even if more than half of humanity were to disappear and die, you shouldn't think it's all over there; you have to find a way forward."
The Branch Chief smiled, her finger still raised, and she opened her red eyes to look at me.
"Carry the burden, but don't let that burden consume you, Kim Jae-heon. Understood?"
"That's a very difficult spell to follow, Branch Chief."
It wasn't an incorrect statement, but being told to emulate it left me feeling a bit at a loss. Maybe it's because I haven't lived long enough to fully relate.
"There's no need to worry about that so much."
The Branch Chief laughed softly and met my eyes.
"I'll be right beside you, keeping an eye on things."
"..."
That's... touching.
And a bit burdensome, too.
"...Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? Between us!"
I bowed my head to the Branch Chief, and she waved her hands dismissively.
I'm not sure what 'between us' entails, but at least she seems to be in a good mood, so I'll take it as a positive.
"What are your plans going forward?"
"Going forward?"
"Well, since you're preparing for a big event, you'll be calling for me and such, right?"
"That's true."
"Everyone does that. At first, it's like writing a will: 'I'm glad I met other people,' 'I love you,' or if not that, 'I want to live with you after this fight is over...'"
"Those all sound like things people say when they're clearly about to die."
"Surprisingly, they often live long, full lives?"
"So ability is what matters after all."
I learned the lesson once again that if you're good at anything, you survive.
"So, Kim Jae-heon, think about tomorrow."
The Branch Chief smiled softly.
Right. Nothing she said was wrong.
It was also something I had said to Manual.
"I suppose I must."
"Good. So, what will you do now?"
"I'm going to meet Yu Daon's parents."
"No marriage meetings allowed."
"Excuse me?"
The Branch Chief was suddenly spouting nonsense.
"No, I mean, does it even make sense to have a marriage meeting just because Yu Daon is the only one with parents?"
"Isn't that a terribly inhumane thing to say?"
As if implying I don't have parents for a marriage meeting.
"Huh, if you really have a double wedding, won't there be any parents on the bride's side at all?"
The Branch Chief muttered incomprehensibly while staring at the ceiling.
"...Detained personnel can't come to the wedding... And both have lost both parents..."
"What on earth are you talking about right now?"
"Will we need more congratulatory money?"
"Excuse me?"
I stared at the Branch Chief as she spouted incomprehensible words, then opened my mouth.
"Anyway, please arrange a meeting with Yu Daon's parents."
"Are you really going for a marriage meeting?"
"Ah, what marriage meeting? I have questions for them about Kang-byeon and the Hospital."
"...You're serious?"
"If you don't grant permission here, I plan to contact the Director-General."
"Okay! I said okay!"
And just like that, I received the Branch Chief's permission very easily.
*
As I descended to the detention facility, I fell into thought.
Yu Daon's parents.
I had no intention of asking them for help. I never liked them in the first place.
How could I like the people who ruined Yu Daon's life?
However, there was something I needed to get from them.
The detention facility was more ordinary than I had imagined.
Perhaps it's because the method of confinement I'd seen before was brains in jars; compared to that, isn't this somewhat humane?
Thinking that, I looked at the two people suspended with their hands and feet restrained and blindfolds on, and opened my mouth.
"Can you hear me?"
"Who's there! Let us go!"
"Please! What did we do wrong!"
Even I would be angry hearing that.
'What did we do wrong?' Haven't you done far too many things wrong?
So, without saying much, I approached, pulled over a chair, and sat down.
"What on earth are you trying to do this time!"
"What you did last time was enough!"
What did they do? I don't know, but seeing them tremble like that, they must have done something pretty terrible.
"I'll ask just one thing."
When I spoke, the two finally closed their mouths.
"Kim Jae-heon?"
Then, Yu Daon's father muttered in a bewildered voice.
"Why are you here?"
"To get revenge!"
Yu Daon's mother screamed as if having a fit.
"What did we do so wrong! All humans want to become better beings!"
"Be quiet. I'm not so idle as to seek revenge on you."
After cutting off their words, I continued with what I wanted to say.
"The Neurosurgeon."
"What?"
"Do you know that person?"
"..."
"..."
The two fell silent.
Then, Yu Daon's father spoke.
"I know of him."
"That bastard, we haven't seen his face even once since the university hospital."
Yu Daon's mother spoke hastily.
"He definitely said he was waiting for something, but we still don't know what he's waiting for! It's all that bastard's fault!"
Waiting for something?
"What is he waiting for?"
"I don't know, that!"
"I might know, but only if you release us..."
Yu Daon's mother screamed hysterically, while Yu Daon's father spoke as if proposing a deal.
I slowly raised my head and looked at the man.
[Name : X]
[Age : X]
[Specialty : X]
[Talent : X]
[Background : One who has had everything confiscated by the Management Bureau is telling lies in a desperate attempt to survive.]
[Weakness : Leave them as they are.]
I slowly rose from my seat.
He waits. He waits...
Honestly, if that's what he's waiting for, no matter how I think about it, only one thing comes to mind.
I moved my footsteps towards the exit.
"Where are you going! Come back!"
"Don't go!"
Their voices pierced my ears.
But without paying them any mind, I walked out the door.
-Thud!
The iron door closed behind me, completely blocking out the screams.
*
<12>
I stared blankly at the remaining number.
Should I say time passes quickly when it's fast, and slowly when it's slow?
<11>
"Team Leader, have you tried the hair tonic I gave you?"
"That one was surprisingly effective. Where did you get it?"
"It's an isolation object?"
"What did you just say?"
<9>
"Excellent! Of course I'll help!"
"I heard you can break anything."
"My god. Is it a festival over there?"
Ahn Sang-hyun's eyes sparkled as he flashed a bright smile.
<8>
<7>
<6>
.
.
.
<1>
One day.
One day remained.
"..."
The anxiety refused to settle.
I grabbed my wrist to steady my trembling hand, but the trembling still didn't stop.
As if my body remembered the end.
And then, several hands covered mine.
Yu Daon smiled brightly,
Jang Chae-yeon smiled,
Song A-rin averted her gaze.
"Don't worry!"
"We're here."
"I'll die with you if I have to."
"..."
Looking at them, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Alright. Let's go."
For tomorrow.
Or, for a future further ahead.