Chapter 49

“Seolhwa!”

“Sister!”

I leaned against the wall and watched the two have a touching reunion.

Ugh, I’m exhausted. Overusing my abilities made my whole body ache like I had muscle pain. Plus, one of my hands was trembling with pain.

Did I get too excited and overdo it?

But if I hadn’t, I might not have been able to deal any meaningful damage.

…Anyway, it’s time to wrap things up and get out of here.

“Kids, enjoy the reunion and all, but… let’s finish up and get out. If another one of those things shows up, I’m done for.”

“Okay!”

“Boss… are you alright?”

“This is nothing.”

Mina didn’t seem convinced and poked my side with her finger.

“What’s wrong?”

“Boss, you don’t look so good…”

“I’m just tired, don’t worry about it.”

“…Okay.”

Mina, looking like she had more to say, pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped my face.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, and can you get Seolhwa some clothes? Her bag melted, so she has nothing to change into.”

“Ah… so that’s why you’re wearing the boss’s clothes…”

“See? Too big, right?”

“…I’ll get her something to change into.”

“I’m fine like this.”

“No, you’re not.”

Mina glared at Seolhwa, who glanced between us and quietly moved closer to Mina.

“Boss, I’ll just go get her dressed and be right back—”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

I closed my eyes for a moment as Mina and Seolhwa entered what used to be an examination room.

“Oppa, I’m dressed. It’s a bit loose, but…”

“Boss, I’m dressed.”

The two came out after about five minutes.

“Let’s start searching again. I want to get out of here quickly.”

Wait, maybe it’s better to rest here? Since we dealt with the monster, this might actually be the safest place now.

After some thought, I decided to start searching first. We can think about it after achieving our goal.

We began searching the second floor again.

Luckily, it seemed the monster hadn’t affected much of the second floor. The remaining areas we hadn’t explored were relatively intact. It seemed only one monster had infiltrated this hospital.

“Boss. This must be it.”

I looked at the door Mina pointed to with Seolhwa. Though old and broken, a nameplate faintly remained, as if guided by fate.

“This is it.”

“No need to go up to the third floor.”

“Looking at the holes in the ceiling, I can guess what the third floor is like.”

I opened the door and stepped inside the examination room.

“…There’s nothing here.”

It seemed others had already taken everything worth taking. The room was as empty as a newly moved-in house.

All that remained was a half-collapsed bed and a skull rolling on the floor.

Whose skull could it be?

I’m neither an archaeologist nor a doctor, so I have no way of knowing whose skull it is. But… the frame held in the skull’s hand gave a slight clue.

We silently stared at the skull for a while.

“…Boss.”

“…It must be Dr. Yoo’s family.”

Who else would die holding a family photo?

Of course, it might not be, but it seemed likely. I carefully took the family photo from the skull’s hand and checked it.

“It’s definitely the doctor.”

His younger days, now only visible in this old photo, looked happy. So did his family.

“At least it’s in better condition since it was face down.”

Light is the biggest factor in photo deterioration. Being left in the dark for so long must have helped preserve it.

“Well, that’s the goal achieved. Now…”

I carefully approached the skull and lifted the relatively intact head.

I didn’t need to do this, but since I’m here, might as well score some points.

I took out a cloth, wrapped the skull, and carefully placed it on my bag.

I saw a container earlier that could hold the skull. I’ll leave it there for now.

…Or maybe I should crush the bones into powder.

Like an urn.

After some thought, I had Mina bring the container.

“Let’s rest here for today.”

When Mina brought a container large enough to fit a soccer ball, I used water and my abilities to clean the inside.

Then, I gathered the bones scattered by time, placed them in the container, and slowly began crushing them with my abilities.

It was a tough job since I wasn’t using a powerful crusher or metal, but the bones, weakened by decades of exposure, weren’t too hard to break.

After crushing the bones and placing them in the container, I sealed the lid tightly with cloth.

“Done.”

“Good job.”

I drank half the water bottle Mina handed me and gave it back.

“Oppa, this place is too cramped. Let’s go somewhere else—”

“Alright.”

We settled in a relatively spacious and intact room we had scouted earlier and lit a fire.

Luckily, there were old curtains that could be used as firewood, so starting a fire wasn’t difficult.

“I’m tired, so I’ll rest.”

“Boss, sleep well.”

“Oppa, good night.”

“You rest too. You’ve been through a lot being eaten by that monster.”

“Not really? I’m fine.”

…I wonder what happened inside the monster.

It seems like it ate some organs, but…

I pushed my curiosity aside, used my bag as a pillow, and closed my eyes.

————————

“Major, that person looks a lot like Quaker.”

“He really does.”

“Hmm…”

The middle-aged man called Major took out his phone at the words of the soldier with clairvoyance and the one with telepathy.

He tapped the screen twice to turn it on, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened an app.

An app compiling all the wanted notices issued by South Korean intelligence.

He scrolled through countless notices and found Quaker’s.

“He does resemble him.”

Comparing the two, they looked almost identical, and he made a strange expression.

“Maybe a relative or a son?”

“He has no wife or children.”

He answered firmly, looking at the wanted notice with a bitter expression.

“Should we send soldiers to bring him in?”

“Forget it. We already have too much on our plate. How are we supposed to catch him when he’s only identifiable at this distance with your abilities? Splitting our forces and running into the remaining monsters would just cause trouble. Ignore him.”

Even though we caught over ten monsters last night, about the same number escaped.

He had no intention of taking risks for a possibility that wasn’t even certain.

In this era, soldiers, especially those who could use their abilities effectively, were precious.

“Yes!”

“Min-cheol, Sang-mun. It’s your shift change, so call the next team.”

“…Yes!”

Sending both of them off earlier than usual meant he needed some time alone to think.

The two quickly packed their gear and saluted.

“Thank you! Dismissed!”

After they left, he was alone for a while and took out an e-cigarette from his pocket.

“Damn this world…”

———————-

“This is…”

He looked at the urn I handed him along with the family photo and tilted his head.

He must be wondering what this is.

I quickly explained.

“It’s an urn. I don’t know if it’s your son or wife, but… they were holding a family photo.”

“…Thank you. Really, thank you…”

His voice was filled with tears.

“To see them again like this…”

We quietly watched and then silently left.

The sound of sobbing came from inside the building, so we pretended not to hear and waited for a while.

How much time had passed?

I quietly entered the room at the old man’s call and sat facing him.

The old man, his eyes swollen, looked at me and spoke.

“…Thank you for letting me see my family again, even like this.”

“I just did what I had to.”

“Then let’s talk about your reward. First…”

He bent down and pulled out a suitcase, something rarely seen.

“It’s the money I’ve saved working as a quack here.”

“A quack?”

“Without proper medical tools, all I could give to people who came in pain was some exercise therapy and painkillers. Isn’t that a quack?”

I nodded silently at his words.

“Then I’ll…”

“Since you’re here, I’ve finished diagnosing your condition, so take the documents too.”

“Yes.”

I took the paper filled with writing from him.

“Take care.”

“…Don’t end up like me.”

“…I understand.”

I quietly left the hospital.