Chapter: 44
“I’m going out for a bit.”
“Where are you going?! You only came back yesterday after disappearing for a whole month, and now you want to leave again?!”
At Isia’s words, her mother jumped in surprise and blocked her path.
It had only been a day since her daughter, who had been missing for an entire month, had finally returned home.
As a parent, it was only natural that she didn’t want to let her go out alone.
Isia understood how her mother felt.
No, to be honest, she didn’t want to go out either.
One week.
Now, only six days remained.
She had wanted to spend as much of that time as possible with her parents—eat delicious food together and do everything she’d wanted to do.
Like a soldier on a hundred-day leave.
But she simply couldn’t.
Not when she thought about those damned idiots.
That lunatic was bad enough, and now Jihoo too?!
She had no idea what they were doing without her.
The hand holding her phone trembled.
On the screen was a video of a young man beating up soldiers.
It was Park Jihoo.
Watching him copy exactly what Sung Yujin had done yesterday was enough to give Isia a headache.
She had considered just ignoring it.
This wasn’t inside the Tower.
There was no reason she had to keep getting involved with them out here.
Besides, they would all be going back in a week anyway. For her own peace of mind, it seemed better to stay out of it.
But she couldn’t.
Setting Sung Yujin aside, if even Park Jihoo was causing trouble over there, then maybe there was some reason she didn’t know about.
“I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to meet some friends for a bit. I’ll be home before dinner.”
She had no intention of staying long.
She would just find out what was going on and come right back.
After finally convincing her mother, Isia left the house.
When she arrived at Namsan by taxi, she found an enormous crowd gathered there.
Everyone seemed to have come either to confirm the rumors or simply satisfy their curiosity.
“Excuse me. Sorry. Let me through.”
She carefully weaved her way through the crowd toward the front.
“Please step back. This is a restricted area. I repeat, this is a restricted area. Do not approach.”
Soldiers standing behind barricades were keeping people away.
Was it already over?
Park Jihoo was nowhere to be seen.
Only the violent traces of the battle remained.
That’s definitely one of Jihoo’s punches.
After fighting alongside him for the past month, she immediately recognized the marks left behind by his fists.
Why did they even do this?
She didn’t even want to come near that damned Tower.
It was like how some men joked they wouldn’t even pee in the direction of the military base they had served at.
So why had Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo come here?
Curiosity overcame her aversion.
She stepped to the very front and approached one of the soldiers controlling the crowd.
“Do not approach.”
Mid-to-late twenties?
He didn’t even look thirty yet.
The soldier glared at her with obvious irritation.
“Excuse me.”
Ignoring his expression, Isia called out to him.
“What is it? Didn’t you hear the order not to approach?”
“I did. I just wanted to ask one thing.”
She answered as politely as she could.
But the reply she got was just as cold.
“The only answer I can give you is to tell you not to come any closer.”
It seemed he’d been harassed by curious civilians all day.
Understanding his frustration, Isia lowered her voice and whispered.
“Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo are here, right? The people from that video. I’m… acquainted with them. Is there any chance I could meet them?”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Only the soldier standing directly in front of her could hear.
“I don’t know. Don’t approach. If you continue this, I’ll have no choice but to arrest—”
The soldier, who had been mechanically repeating the same warning, suddenly stopped.
Then he stared at Isia.
“What… did you just say?”
“Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo. I asked if they’re here.”
The moment he heard their names, the soldier’s eyes widened.
The emotion in them wasn’t surprise.
It was fear.
He looked as though he might shout at any second.
But somehow, he managed to restrain himself and took a step back.
“W-Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Isia. I know those two. How can I meet them?”
Swallowing nervously, the soldier pulled out his phone and immediately made a call.
“Communications Security. First Lieutenant Park Jin-cheol speaking. There’s someone at the perimeter…”
His voice trembled as he reported Isia’s name and the current situation.
They really caused one hell of an incident.
The video of Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo wasn’t very long.
Yet during that short clip, the two of them had taken down dozens of soldiers.
No wonder they were terrified.
If she hadn’t experienced the Tower herself, she would probably have reacted the same way.
I’ll ask what I need to know and leave. Dad’s coming home today too.
For the first time in an entire month, her whole family would be able to have dinner together.
She didn’t want to miss such precious time.
She planned to finish her business as quickly as possible and head home.
“Ms. Isia? You have been granted permission to enter.”
The soldier stepped aside after ending the call and moved one section of the barricade.
A gap just wide enough for one person opened.
Isia slipped through.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Why are they letting her in?”
“Is she a YouTuber?”
“I’ve never seen her before…”
“Is she a reporter?”
“Hey! Let us in too! At least tell us what’s happening!”
The crowd immediately erupted.
But the soldiers remained firm.
They allowed only Isia through while refusing to let anyone else pass.
The commotion grew louder.
If they had been alone, no one would have dared shout at armed soldiers acting so forcefully.
But the psychology of a crowd made people bolder.
There was probably also the vague belief that, in twenty-first-century South Korea, soldiers wouldn’t harm their own civilians.
In any case, after Isia was allowed inside, the crowd gradually became more aggressive.
“You guys have it rough.”
As she walked farther inside, leaving the crowd behind, Isia spoke to the soldier escorting her.
But he didn’t respond.
He simply continued leading her deeper into the restricted area in complete silence.
He’s really stiff.
Feeling awkward, Isia decided to just keep her mouth shut and follow him.
After walking for some time, a prefabricated building came into view.
It was so large that she couldn’t help wondering when something like this had been built on Namsan.
The soldier took a card from his pocket and held it against the reader beside the entrance.
Beep!
After confirming his identity, the door opened.
The inside came into view.
A laboratory?
It looked exactly like the laboratories from countless movies.
People in spotless white lab coats hurried back and forth among rows of scientific equipment.
What are they researching… Ah, the Tower?
She had almost forgotten.
The damned Tower of Light stood nearby.
These people had probably been gathered here to study it.
Though she doubted research alone would reveal much.
“This way.”
The soldier led Isia through a white hallway and deeper into the building.
She could feel people staring at her.
Leggings and an oversized T-shirt.
Anyone could tell she looked completely out of place here.
To everyone else, she must have looked strangely out of place.
Maybe I should’ve dressed a little nicer.
If she’d known the atmosphere would be like this, she would have worn something else.
Feeling embarrassed by all the glances, she scratched the back of her head.
Then the soldier suddenly spoke.
“I heard you know Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo.”
“Ah, yes! That’s right.”
Grateful for the distraction, Isia smiled brightly and nodded.
The soldier looked at her.
His expression was filled with countless emotions.
But above all…
Fear.
Just like when he’d first heard their names.
After hesitating for a while, he cautiously asked,
“Just… what exactly are those two?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that.”
His body trembled slightly.
“Are they… really human?”
“Ah…”
It was an understandable question.
She had watched the footage herself.
Sung Yujin and Park Jihoo.
The two of them fighting soldiers.
To ordinary people, it was incomprehensible.
They had witnessed something that belonged only in superhero movies.
“They’re human. Well… not exactly ordinary humans.”
The two of them were about as far from ordinary as anyone could be.
And the same applied to Isia herself.
“But you don’t have to be that scared. Mr. Sung Yujin really is a complete lunatic, but… he doesn’t go around killing people for no reason.”
Even as she said it, she tilted her head uncertainly.
She couldn’t be completely sure.
Whenever she remembered the way he had slaughtered monsters, it felt as though killing people wouldn’t bother him in the slightest.
“I see.”
The soldier looked as though he had many more questions.
But he asked nothing further.
Silence returned as the two continued walking deeper inside.
“This is the place.”
At last, the soldier stopped.
They stood before the firmly closed door of an office.
The nameplate read:
Chief Researcher Lee Gi-seok
“So I just go in?”
“Yes.”
After answering, the soldier turned around without another word and walked away.
Clicking her tongue lightly, Isia knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A middle-aged man’s voice answered.
She slowly opened the door.
“Noona!”
The first person she saw was Park Jihoo.
Even though it had only been a day since they left the Tower, he still looked like a complete mess.
No… did he get even dirtier?
Fresh red blood—different from monster blood—seemed to have been added to the stains covering him.
“Jihoo, what on earth have you been doing—”
The moment she saw his face, a lecture came out automatically.
But she couldn’t finish.
Because someone sitting beside Jihoo was staring at her with a sullen expression.
“I don’t know what everyone’s expecting to find here. They all keep crawling in. Were you that desperate to see me?”
For a brief moment…
She seriously considered it.
Whether or not she should rip his mouth open.
If she’d had the ability, she might have actually tried.
“Who said I came to see you, old man? If your delusions are that bad, you should probably get them treated.”
Snort.
Sung Yujin burst into laughter.
It was unmistakably mocking.
“Anyway! That’s what I wanted to ask. What is this place? Why are both of you causing such a huge scene? The video of you two has spread all over Korea!”
“They were going to find out sooner or later. Does it really matter if it spread a little earlier?”
Scolded by Isia, Sung Yujin casually picked at his ear with complete indifference.
“Well, it wasn’t intentional. Since you’re here, sit down. I’ve already finished talking things over with this gentleman.”
“Talking about what?”
“The Tower. And Players. I told him pretty much everything you guys know.”
Hearing that, Isia unconsciously turned her gaze toward the middle-aged man sitting across from Sung Yujin.
Judging by his awkward smile, he seemed to be the owner of this office.
“You actually believed him?”
She looked genuinely dumbfounded.
If she hadn’t experienced it herself, she would have dismissed it as the ramblings of a madman.
“What choice did I have if I didn’t? The evidence—and the witnesses—are sitting right here in front of me.”
