Thanks to J's efforts, the mess was quickly cleared up. After locking the door to the final hospital room, the puppet bowed his head to the hunters to express his gratitude.
"Thanks to your help, we finished early. Thank you."
"What's the cause of the mass seizure?"
"That can only be confirmed once Master regains consciousness."
"I always tell him to build up some stamina."
"My thoughts exactly. What are we going to do with him being so frail~?"
Taking advantage of the moment Honeybee and Gyu-Gyu being amiable for the first time in a while, Jung Bin approached J, who was looking around the hospital rooms with his arms crossed. Jung Bin cleared his throat softly and smiled.
"I thought you'd returned to your hospital room, but then I see you here."
"Ah, haha…"
"You were moving quite nimbly… You must be in great shape."
"I told you. I just lost consciousness for a moment. I'm perfectly fine. Being sturdy is my greatest asset."
J scratched the back of his head awkwardly. His hair gleamed white under the incandescent light. Hair that was gradually turning whiter and whiter. A kit to identify mutants had not yet been developed, because not only was everyone busy developing a vaccine, but most mutants could already be distinguished with the naked eye.
'Is it okay to judge based solely on hair color?'
As if noticing the watchful gaze, J lowered his hands and quietly put them behind his back.
"…"
"…"
Jung Bin did not stop probing with his eyes, and J tried to evade it by turning his head this way and that. Taking advantage of the moment, Gyu-Gyu put his arm around Jung Bin's shoulder. He sneered with an intrigued look on his face.
"What's with this tension? Let me join in too~"
Jung Bin nudged Gyu-Gyu slightly with his shoulder and smiled.
"Assistant, Gyu-Gyu-nim says he'll help with the cleanup. Take him along and use him however you please."
"Huh? I never said anything like that?"
"Is that so? Thank you for your help."
"I said I never said that! Hello?"
The boy grabbed Gyu-Gyu's arm and started dragging him along, the man having a dazed look on his face. Honeybee sneered.
"Serves him right."
Jung Bin fixed his gaze on J again. It might be a provocation from Gyu-Gyu. It might be a ploy to stir up unnecessary suspicion. But…
'Variables must be excluded as much as possible.'
The first principle of an awakened is the protection of civilians. Jung Bin reached out to J.
"I'd like to talk for a moment. Would that be alright?"
"…"
J looked around as if asking for help, then spotted Honeybee. She looked back and forth between Jung Bin and J in a flustered manner, then quickly averted her gaze and blurted out a rapid-fire stream of words.
"Oh no! Look at me, hmm, I have an urgent appointment? I'll be going now?"
"Honeybee-ssi!"
"Right, it was nice meeting you too! See you again next time!"
Honeybee vanished like the wind. Only the two of them remained. Jung Bin pressured him with a smiling face, and eventually, J trudged after Jung Bin.
Looking for a secluded spot where no one would hear, they ended up on the rooftop. Jung Bin pulled open the loosely locked door. There was a helipad on the roof of the Seowon Guild. Jung Bin walked past the large H mark toward the railing. J followed, dragging his shoes along the ground.
Eight years had passed. Jung Bin looked once again at the young man who had slumped down onto the green floor. As if time had bypassed him, J looked exactly like he did back then, except for his hair color and attire.
"Is it okay if I smoke?"
"Yes, feel free."
"Thank you."
Jung Bin took a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. As he put the cigarette in his mouth, J blurted out.
"You still haven't quit."
"Haha, it's hard to quit. Shall I get you one?"
"…No, someone was making a fuss about me quitting."
J smacked his lips and turned his head. Who could it be? The person who dared to make such a fuss telling J to quit smoking. Jung Bin lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The answer came to him without much thought. Who else could it be other than Lee Sa-young? Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
In the Jongno underground dungeon, J, running wild after losing his reason, was a terrifying presence above all else.
The fingertips holding the cigarette trembled slightly. Gyu-Gyu's humorless voice echoed in his head.
"I don't even want to imagine what would happen if J turned into a monster~…"
The same goes for Jung Bin. If a civilian transforming into a monster was already so threatening, what if a hunter, who was even named the strongest awakened, turned into a monster?
"…J-nim."
"Yes."
His mouth did not open easily. Could he ask? If he asked him, would he give a proper answer? If J didn't trust him, then wouldn't asking be useless?
In the end, Jung Bin asked an irrelevant question instead of the straightforward one.
"Did you file your taxes?"
"…Huh?"
"…No, no. I misspoke."
"…About that, do people who died and were resurrected still have to pay taxes?"
Fortunately, J parried it with a joke. Jung Bin rubbed the corner of his mouth and chuckled softly.
"Probably. You'll need to consult a tax accountant for the details."
J grumbled, resting his chin on his hand.
"Good grief. Back in our day, there was nothing like the awakener tax or anything."
"Haha, many systems have been established since then. Many laws too. There were just so many hunters committing tax evasion, you see."
"I guess stabilization isn't always entirely a good thing."
"Hmm, back then, it was a complete wilderness. Of course, the wild era had its own advantages, though. Did you know that even magic stones are now subject to taxes?"
"…There's a magic stone tax, too?"
"When you sell them through the market, a fee is added as a tax."
"Um, by any chance, the Tomato Market…."
"Ah, selling there constitutes tax evasion."
"…"
The atmosphere softened slightly as they exchanged lighthearted banter. Jung Bin clenched his hands tightly in his pockets. He had apprehended countless hunters and interrogated numerous of them. He was someone who could extract the information he wanted by any means necessary. However, this was the first time he felt his eloquence was lacking.
J stretched out both arms and yawned.
"You have something to ask, don't you?"
"…"
"Just ask me comfortably. Don't beat around the bush."
"…Then, J-nim."
Jung Bin held his breath for a moment, then asked.
"Are you mutating?"
J looked up. The answer came surprisingly easily.
"Yes."
Thump. Something sank heavily. Hoping his voice wouldn't tremble, Jung Bin asked again.
"…Since when?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but probably… since inside the West Sea rift. I only found out about it recently, though."
"…"
"I found out that eating white monsters turns you into a mutant. Even if a food shortage occurs, please make sure no one eats the monsters."
"…Inside the rift, did you consume them?"
"…"
No answer came back, and the black mask showed no expression. Oh. Jung Bin unconsciously added a rambling remark.
"I'm not trying to blame J-nim or the fellow hunters, I'm just trying to verify the facts… If you don't want to answer, you don't have to."
"It's alright. It's in the past."
J fiddled with his hair. Faded to gray, his hair resembled the color of white ash falling from the sky.
"Fortunately, the process is on the slower side. Technically, I should be the first mutant in this world, but aside from my hair color changing a bit, there are no other signs of mutation…"
"That is… a relief."
"What you are worried about won't happen."
It was a tone of conviction. How could he be that certain? As if noticing his doubt, J raised his index finger and pointed somewhere. The finger was pointing to the sky.
"I'm going to face the apocalypse."
It was said in such a light tone, as if he were simply going out for a quick walk. Jung Bin almost dropped the cigarette held between his fingers. He coughed softly and hurriedly asked back.
"Wait a minute, are you serious?"
"Of course. You can't just wait for it to come. If you can strike it, then you should strike it first."
"But—"
"You know better than me how much damage was done even if it only opened its eye for a brief moment."
"…"
"Rather than doing nothing and waiting, I'm going to try something."
"Even if that leads to death?"
"Yes."
A firm answer. Jung Bin was speechless. How could he answer so immediately? His life was on the line. Moreover, hadn't he already entered a dungeon where death awaited once before…?
Jung Bin took a trembling breath.
"Have you already made up your mind?"
"Yes."
"…It was only a few tens of minutes ago that I told you not to shoulder all the burdens alone…"
"Come on, do you think I'd do it alone?"
"What?"
He widened his eyes. Before he knew it, J was sitting comfortably, supporting himself on the floor with both arms. As the ash-mixed wind blew, his gray hair scattered like ash.
"You have to protect the people while I fight."
"…"
"We just do what we're good at."
J raised his head. Even though his face wasn't visible because of the mask, he could vaguely tell what his expression looked like.
"It's a division of labor."
He was smiling.