Chapter 39

It was drizzling, the misty rain dispersing like fine water particles from a humidifier.

My clothes were already drenched, and with the raindrops flying everywhere, it was hard to even keep my eyes open. Still, I forced them wide and stared beyond the alley.

The darkened alley felt ominous, like the mouth of a monster ready to devour me.

“Hyejin! Hyejin! Hyejin! Where’d you go?”

The calm voice of the detestable man echoed through the night.

The sound of his footsteps running around in every direction broke the silence of the alleyway.

“Y’know, when we said we’d buy your horns, you should’ve sold them earlier. Now this is just inconvenient for us, and you’ll be sad because you won’t get paid.”

I steadied my breathing, waiting for the right moment.

“You should’ve stayed put once we caught you, but nooo, you had to escape? Bad girl. Very bad.”

There’s no way I’m letting that guy catch me.

I have to find my older sister who went to Seoul.

“Hey Hyejin, you don’t even know where you are, do you? Think you can run? Walk all the way to Seoul from here?”

That guy who always spoke in a pitiful, small voice—was it all an act?

There wasn’t a trace of weakness now.

He laughed as if he were genuinely having fun, amused even.

“Guess what? That chick who ‘committed suicide’? Yeah, I sent her to a hospital where they cut off her horns. Funny, huh? She acted so tough until her horns were gone, then she crumbled instantly.”

I clenched my teeth tightly.

‘Ignore the provocation. Ignore it,’ I kept repeating in my mind.

“Yeah, isn’t it fascinating how cutting off those little horns drives people insane? You’ll experience it soon enough, so look forward to it!”

Hiding in the darkness of the alley, I waited for my chance.

When he turns his back, I’ll bolt in the opposite direction.

I didn’t know where I was, but I had to escape first and figure things out later.

He passed by the entrance of the alley where I was hiding.

Now if I stay quiet a bit longer, I can get away!

“Ah! Actually, I’ve known where you were hiding since a while ago.”

A rustling sound came from right behind me.

Startled, I tried to turn around.

Clang.

Before I could fully turn, the metallic sound rang in my head.

Suddenly, all strength left my body, and I collapsed helplessly onto the ground.

“By the way, your sister? She’s in the same predicament as you now. What a pair of fools.”

As I struggled to look up, the baseball bat swung down toward my head, filling my vision.

***

Bucheon Research Institute.

A research institute tucked away in a corner of Bucheon.

Long abandoned and devoid of life, it stood as a ruin—until now.

Life began returning to the desolate structure; its worn exterior repaired, staff arriving anew.

Though some wondered at the speed of the renovation—”Construction these days is really fast, huh?”—most shrugged it off.

There was one oddity, though: the perpetually gloomy expressions of the employees.

In the basement of this melancholic atmosphere, the director tapped their cane cheerfully, humming a tune.

Inspecting each isolation room, the director appeared genuinely delighted.

Adorning the walls were countless golden hearts, trophies of sorts, one of which emitted a cracking noise before melting away.

The director observed this with a dry expression.

“The discovery of the facility sooner than expected doesn’t matter much.”

Inside one containment room, humans with golden horns filled the space.

“Materials are more than sufficient, so let’s proceed to the next experiment.”

At the director’s command, shadowy researchers dragged one horned human away.

“For the love of humanity, let’s begin our research.”

But the director’s face revealed nothing but sadistic glee.

***

Yerin has broken.

“Reaper~”

She won’t let go no matter what.

“Our Reaper isn’t going anywhere, right?”

What on earth happened?

Whenever seated, Yerin would wrap her arms around me from behind, burying her face deeply into my hair.

When moving, she’d carry me in her arms or hoist me up under her armpit.

Honestly, it’s bothersome, but the overwhelming emotions she emits make it hard to object.

Perhaps the golden dolls I offloaded caused this?

Despite the hassle, I’ve decided to offer special service until Yerin returns to normal.

I flipped around to hug her back.

This special service will only last until Yerin regains her sanity.

***

Director’s Office, Sehee Research Institute.

Jungrye and Sehee sat across from each other at a desk.

Tapping her fingers on top of documents, Sehee spoke.

“The maintenance costs for the cute puppy are almost negligible? At this point, forcibly acquiring the cute puppy officially seems beneficial. What do you think?”

“Since the gray reaper trained the cute puppy, it’s been very obedient. It’s hard to even recognize this as the infamous cute puppy anymore. Even with significant effort, acquiring the cute puppy would still be cost-effective.”

Jungrye continued delivering information with her usual stoic face.

“Doesn’t listen without the reaper?”

“Yes, possibly out of fear of the reaper, it cooperates even when the reaper isn’t around. However….”

“However?”

“These are the data points measured during the period the reaper was absent from the institute.”

Jungrye handed over a report filled with simple numbers and attached photos to Sehee.

“The cute puppy’s body length data?”

“Yes, after the gray reaper left the institute, the cute puppy started growing taller.”

“What’s the issue with that? The cute puppy’s size was originally about 50cm, right?”

“Yes, the initial measurement when we acquired the cute puppy was 50cm. After the gray reaper’s training, it shrank to 20cm. But ever since the gray reaper completely left the institute, it has grown by approximately 1cm per day.”

“Is there a problem because it’s getting bigger?”

“We confirmed that as its size increases, so does its aggression proportionally. Once the gray reaper returned to the institute, it reverted to 20cm immediately, but this is something to consider carefully before acquiring the cute puppy.”

“Hmm, remember that lizard the reaper brought? Three days later, it seemed forgotten and abandoned. There’s no law saying the cute puppy won’t end up like that.”

“Fortunately, interest has been maintained so far. For instance, the cute puppy sleeping in its kennel was forcibly woken up, and it was made to walk on two legs for no reason.”

“I haven’t seen the reaper torment an object like this before. Usually, they lose interest quickly after the initial excitement. Come to think of it, the reaper seems to dislike dog-like objects.”

Sehee gathered the documents and placed them into a folder before standing up.

“There’s no need to decide immediately. Let’s observe how long the reaper maintains interest.”

Thus concluded the discussion between Jungrye and Sehee.

***

I was following my senior, who aimlessly walked without destination.

“Senior~ Can we stop and go back now?”

“If you’re tired, go back. I’ll continue looking for a request.”

Thinking they might have received a request somewhere, but all they did was walk around while muttering nonsense.

Not searching for requests or talking to anyone, just walking endlessly.

Surely waiting by the office phone for requests would yield better results than this meaningless wandering?

Yet the senior kept walking silently.

Even as the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell, the walking never ceased.

It didn’t seem like there was any specific destination.

Forward, forward, always forward.

We had long since left Seoul behind.

How could one receive a request in the middle of the night, in the outskirts of the city where hardly anyone was around?

Especially with a drizzle starting, reducing the number of people outside even further.

“It’s a case.”

The senior looked somewhere and spoke.

In the dimly lit alley, I saw a woman being struck by a baseball bat and collapsing.

“I’ll handle it. Could you record evidence for me?”

The senior’s voice reached me, though it was muffled due to the heat rising to my head.

I pulled out a familiar tool slung over my back.

Hammer.

Feeling the familiar texture, I swung the hammer and charged forward.

A sigh from the senior seemed to come from behind.

***

Sometimes, the junior goes berserk in violent situations.

When the junior goes berserk, they fight better than me.

To the point where I sometimes wonder if it’s not due to some object’s influence.

I calmly filmed the rampaging junior from behind.

The video clearly captured the three men trying to kidnap the woman, startled and fleeing upon seeing the madman swinging a hammer and smashing walls.

Scary, an angry junior is truly scary.

Huffing and puffing, I left the junior behind and shook the unconscious girl awake.

With a bewildered expression, the girl accepted the business card I offered.

“Hello. Do you happen to have any requests?”

The woman took the card, clearly unsure of the situation.