Samael, who had forced me to kneel down, pulled something from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. It was a test tube filled with bright red liquid.
Samael shook it twice in front of my eyes as if to make sure I saw it, then spoke.
"I'm sure you expected this anyway, so I'll keep my explanation brief. That person's blood is in it."
Every time the vial shook, the crimson liquid inside shimmered with an eerie light. An ominous feeling of foreboding washed over me.
"Just how far are you willing to go?"
Samael's grip on the back of my head tightened again. I forced my head up, trying not to frown despite the stinging pain.
"Hold out your hand."
His voice was affectionate, as if he were offering me a gift. I obediently raised my hand, and he placed the vial in my palm.
"Drink it yourself. Every last drop. Leave nothing left."
"...."
"Then, I will hand over all the jewels."
A cold sensation spread from the test tube onto my hand. The cold autumn wind blowing behind me sent chills down my spine.
The vivid red color, as if it had been freshly extracted from a human, made my skin crawl. As the time approached when I would have to drink this liquid with my own hands—a liquid that was clearly harmful—my mind grew strangely calm as the seconds passed.
'How much would drinking this help my current situation?'
If Samael truly intended to hand over the transportation items, I would drink this liquid countless times. At least I was certain it wasn't a deadly poison that could kill me in an instant.
If they were going to kill me so easily, they wouldn't have bothered going through all this trouble. There must have been a reason they'd put so much effort into installing transportation items at every gate and even launching these raids. That's why I wasn't afraid of this liquid I was holding.
But… I feared what would happen after drinking it. I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen. It was hard to so innocently believe that Samael would hand over the transportation items as promised.
So I opened my mouth, hoping to gain even a shred of information that might hint at their plan.
"Why me, specifically?"
Samael, who had been happily waiting for me to drink the liquid, tilted his head slightly at my question.
"Did you really think I would answer that?"
"I'd think a business partner would at least be able to answer a question like this."
"Well… it's not exactly an appealing one."
"Give me a break. I'm even drinking this liquid you gave me with no complaints."
"Hmm."
We were at a disadvantage, so drinking the liquid was my only choice, but I deliberately forced a shameless smile and insisted.
Even in the midst of all this, my heart was pounding nervously, unsure how the madman in front of me would react to my stubbornness.
"Fine, alright."
For some reason, Samael had agreed, though he didn't look displeased at all. His hand, having released my hair which he had been holding, now grasped my chin.
"What was your question again? Ah, why you, of all people?"
His thumb gently traced the curve of my lips. He then signaled to Azazel, who was standing next to him.
Azazel spoke, her mouth twisted in annoyance beneath the mask covering her eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? The rest of the vermin are the same ones which always appear whenever time repeats, but you're the only one who suddenly appeared in this timeline. And..."
Azazel turned his gaze straight ahead. She stared at something for a moment, then continued speaking.
"I told you, didn't I? It's not like we're doing this for no reason."
Azazel immediately burst into laughter. It was a mocking sneer.
"When torturing someone, every expression and gesture you see… all of it becomes a clue. Of course, he endured surprisingly well, but simply keeping your mouth shut doesn't mean it's over."
Only then did I realize that the person Azazel was referring to was Kim Woojin. My grip on the test tube instinctively tightened.
"At the mere mention of your name, his shoulders stiffened, as if he were afraid of being caught hiding something."
"...."
"Sometimes, the body speaks louder than words, doesn't it?"
I struggled as I swallowed back the curse that had risen to the tip of my tongue. The blood in my body ran cold as my chest burned with rage.
The image of Kim Woo-jin, tortured to the brink of death by Azazel, was still vivid in my mind. The thought of Kim Woo-jin now feeling guilty, believing it was his fault that I was captured, made it feel like a fire was burning in my stomach.
"Is your curiosity satisfied now?"
Samael, not wanting to waste any more time, tapped my cheek with his finger impatiently.
If I delayed this any longer, I risked losing the deal I had just secured, so I silently unscrewed the cap from the test tube.
'Still....'
It wasn't that I gained nothing from that question just now. It was true that they'd realized through Kim Woo-jin that I possessed something, but it wasn't that my abilities had been exposed. The same was true for 'Kwon Se-hyun's' appearance.
I had no way of knowing if things might change if I were to drink this liquid.
Well, there was no running away now... I had no choice but to trust my teammates who were all watching me anxiously from behind.
"Drink it."
Samael gave me another command as I silently looked down at the test tube. Then, I slowly lifted the tube and brought it up to my lips.
The pungent smell of blood tickled my nose. Feeling my stomach churn, I tilted the test tube and drank the cold liquid inside.
***
Warm sunlight streamed in through the curtains. The pure white curtains, fluttering in the gentle breeze blowing through the open window, particularly caught my eye.
"This is the room where I used to play with my older sister when we were little, but after we got a little older, we stopped using it, so it became a storage room."
After being guided into the room, I saw a box containing various items. Among them, I pulled out a sketchbook filled with various drawings.
"If you're bored, instead of a sketchbook, why not look at this?"
Just then, the other person handed me a book. Among the many books on the shelf, it was this one that particularly caught my eye earlier.
With its plain black cover devoid of any design and the title 'Abyss,' it exuded an eerie atmosphere in many ways.
"It's a novel. Give it a read."
"What… I don't read things like novels."
"Why not? They're quite interesting. This one's been on this bookshelf for over ten years. It's not really my father's style, so I was wondering who put it there."
Despite my head shaking, the other person handed me the book in the end. The rough feel of the book's cover against my fingertips was completely unfamiliar.
"I'm not going to read this."
"You have nothing else to do until I find the photo anyway."
"I'm helping you look for it too, so how is there nothing to do?"
"Says the one who was secretly peeking at my sketchbook just now… This would be way more interesting than that sketchbook, right?"
The other person leaned close to me and tapped his finger on the book. His bright blond hair, illuminated by the room light, was particularly dazzling.
As I recalled the other person's name, it slipped out naturally.
"Stop messing around, Yeon Seon-woo."
"You're always messing around whenever I do anything too."
Yeon Seon-woo, who had finally gotten a word in with me, pouted with a disgruntled expression. Feeling like he was about to get really upset, I opened the book to appease him a bit.
"Like I said, I've never read a novel before...."
"We can read it together for the first time then. Isn't that nice?"
Well, look at you—you really find everything nice, don't you?
With a soft laugh, I read the text on the first page.
"Ha Tae-heon… Is that his name?"
"Yes. The main character is Ha Tae-heon, and there are many other characters as well. Seriously, hyung, have you never read something like this?"
"What exactly is 'this'?"
"It's a fantasy novel. This one's got a lot of girls in it, though…."
A lot of girls? I looked at Yeon Seon-woo suspiciously.
"This is one of those weird books, right?"
Well, he's a boy in his prime, so I get why he'd read this kind of thing... But reading this kind of writing, not even watching videos or looking at pictures, was a bit pathetic.
Yeon Seon-woo blushed and snapped back, perhaps because he saw the pitiful look in my eyes.
"No, it's not!"
"Take it easy. You'll wear yourself out."
"Ah, hyung-nim!"
I thought his dramatic reaction was cute, so I teased him further, making Yeon Seon-woo's shoulders tense and start to tremble.
Having rested enough, it was time to look through the photos. I closed the book and stood up, and Yeon Seon-woo followed suit, opening his mouth.
"It's really not that kind of novel, okay? Read it properly! Or make a bet with me. If it's a weird novel, I'll take responsibility."
"Do you even know what 'taking responsibility' means? This kid doesn't even know what he's talking about."
I lightly hit Yeon Seon-woo on the head with the corner of the book. He covered the area on his head with his hand with an offended look on his face, as if he was wronged. It didn't even hurt, his reaction was ridiculous.
I placed the book I was holding back on its shelf. The black book, now free from my grasp, returned to the bookshelf.
***
"These are the documents sent down from headquarters. They said to review them, fill them out, and submit them within a week."
"Got it. How was the atmosphere at headquarters yesterday?"
"It wasn't bad, but… I saw some new faces. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
Go Dong-ju spoke with an uneasy expression. New faces, huh… As I was trying to gauge Yoo Si-hyuk's mood after meeting him a few days ago, a knock on the door brought me to my feet, pulling my gaze away from the documents.
"Hyung-nim, you busy?"
Before I could even say 'come in', the door had already opened and Yeon Seon-woo's head peeked out. Seeing the smiling face beneath his yellow hair, the corners of my mouth involuntarily lifted.
"This damn kid… Just coming in here without permission now, eh? Hey, you! You think this is your living room?"
Go Dong-ju shouted instead of me, who remained silent. Yeon Seon-woo, who had come inside giggling, placed the paper bag he was holding onto the sofa, regardless of whether Go Dong-ju scolded him or not.
"Gosh, you're making my ears bleed. I can hear you all the same even if you whisper, you know."
"What? This- this damn kid…."
"That's enough. Go Dong-ju, you can leave now."
Knowing Yeon Seon-woo wouldn't give a damn about Go Dong-joo's nagging, I cut their conversation short.
"God damn it... Now my blood pressure's rising."
Go Dong-ju's face flushed crimson up to his neck. Then, grabbing the back of his neck, he stormed out.
Clang, Bam! As soon as Go Dong-ju slammed the door with a loud bang, Yeon Seon-woo walked towards me as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.
What was he up to now? Seeing him smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners, I propped my chin on my hand and sighed.