The call was disconnected. At the same time, the coin fell into the machine with a clanging sound, and the balance displayed on the black-and-white screen changed to 0. It is not clear which came first. Lee Young-jin slowly put down the receiver.
He blinked his eyes a few times.
Fifteen minutes, neither long nor short.
First, he left the public phone booth with as natural a movement as possible. He couldn’t help but feel that his shoulders were stiff. His grip on his bag was tingling, and the bag was heavy, as if it were a lump of lead of the same volume.
The bathroom wasn’t a good choice for hiding or running away. But now he had no choice. Fifteen minutes. He wandered around for no reason, but he had to avoid doing anything that stood out.
Several scenarios spontaneously popped into his mind.
First scenario. Get discovered, have his bag taken away and is summarily executed. His body was placed in a sack and dumped somewhere near the peak of Paramo Frontino at an altitude of 3,950 meters. If he’s lucky, the body will be discovered by a mountaineer, and if not, hundreds or thousands of years have passed, it will be stuck between strata and become fossilized, becoming human specimen data that can inform future generations about the biological characteristics of ancient people. Of course, Lee Young-jin is a first-generation hybrid mutant, so he may not be a very good representative of modern humans.
Second scenario. Get discovered. First, his bag is taken away and he is dragged somewhere with his eyes and mouth covered. He doesn’t know exactly how much value his omega body has, even if only on the surface. However, he knew that the supply is far short of the demand. He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen next.
Third. Get discovered. He has his bag taken away and a gun is placed against the back of his head. Plastic handcuffs are placed on his wrists and a black cloth covers his face. And blackout. When he wakes up, in front of him is Seo Seung-hyun with cold, dry eyes, just like in Shanghai before… … .
‘No.’
He was out of breath.
His shoulders shook greatly.
Lee Young-jin took a deep breath. His chest loudly puffed out.
He thought again.
‘It’s not that I don’t like it. just… .’
Maybe it’s guilt. The feeling of guilt not only for trusting him and saving his life, but also for betraying Seo Seung-hyun, who had entrusted him with the job by paying him a large sum of money. When he thought of him, his heart felt like it was being squeezed. Because of this, Lee Young-jin decided not to think about him anymore.
He went into the bathroom.
A pale man was reflected in the mirror.
His eyelids were heavy and his eyelashes cast long shadows on his cheeks. There was no color in his lips. The hair covering his forehead was a mess because he had not combed it properly. The moist irises next to the drooping corners of his eyes were looking at him with moist eyes.
Lee Young-jin quickly lowered his head because he had no intention of prolonging a snowball fight that would end in defeat anyway.
He turned on the water and washed his hands. His hands, which were slippery with sweat, were soaked with soap and wiped for a long time. The water was as cold as ice. He felt the cold air touching the back of his neck, which was exposed without a coat.
It was then.
Footsteps were heard from the hallway outside the bathroom. The sound of four feet regularly stepping on the tile floor followed. Thump, thump, thump, thump. It was fast, almost weightless, and had a perfectly even beat.
Lee Young-jin suddenly raised his head.
The back of my hand brushed past the automatic sensor, and water poured over his hands, still slick with soap. Ssshhh. As he hastily withdrew his hand, the water stopped, and an eerie silence settled.
The sound of footsteps grew closer.
Lee Young-jin, without even thinking of rinsing off the soap completely, picked up his bag again.
He entered the last compartment where cleaning tools were kept.
He squeezed into a narrow space filled with tissues and burlap sacks.
His chest fluttered, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.
Lee Young-jin desperately tried to regulate his breathing. However, the fear that the keen ears of the extraordinary species might hear the rough sound of his heartbeat and find him hiding here made his heart disobediently thump louder and larger.
Thump-thump-thump-thump, thud, thump-thump-thump-thump, thud, thud, thump-thump-thump-thump-thump. The sound of footsteps became entangled chaotically with the beating of his heart. Thud, thump, thump-thump, thwack!
“Ugh!”
Bang! Thud! Crack!
His heart made strange sounds, beating irregularly. It could be a sign of coronary artery disease or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. If he could safely get out of here and return to Seoul, he thought he should visit a hospital. The cost of hospital bills was scary, but if a small illness was neglected and turned into a bigger one, wouldn’t it result in even higher medical expenses? Fortunately, the hospital he went to was a very small one introduced by Teacher, so it was a relief that the medical expenses were affordable. He couldn’t even dare to go to large and clean places like university hospitals or general hospitals in the first place.
Click.
Something gently knocked on the door.
Lee Young-jin held his breath and shrank his body.
He hoped the pile of tissues would hide him, but it was a vain hope.
Click.
The door shook again.
Click.
Three knocks followed. A few seconds of silence.
“Customer.”
A playful voice spoke from outside the door.
“I came after receiving a quick delivery call.”
Before Lee Young-jin could even react with an “Uh” to that familiar voice, the door was violently pulled open. The steel hinges and doorknob shattered simultaneously, and the door fell off entirely.
Lee Young-jin stared dumbfounded at the door, his eyes and mouth wide open. His eyelids, which had been looking down, turned upwards, and his eyelashes fluttered.
In front of the door stood a man with a face as white and clean as whipped cream, holding the door in one hand. Behind him, at his feet, lay the sprawled ends of the shoes of two bulky figures. The man slightly tilted his head to the left and grinned.
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