Chapter 44 (1/2)

“Let’s go.” Su-hyeun, who told the doctor that he would be careful, flinched from his lack of care. He pushed Lee Ju-ho’s back. He could hear a nagging of the doctor behind them, but he pretended not to hear and moved in a hurry.

The two men headed to a nearby cafe. Since Su-hyeun bandaged his arm and body, it attracted others’ attention. So they found a place to sit away from prying eyes.

“How is your arm?” Lee Ju-ho, who ordered a cup of coffee, asked Su-hyeun.

“It is okay. I’m fine, really,” Su-hyeun nodded and answered.

“I saw your face crumpled when you were swinging your arms earlier…” Lee Ju-ho said as his voice trailed off.

“Well, it is moving. That is good enough. Besides, injuring this much is not a big deal when we pass the trials, right?” Su-hyeun answered confidently as if he asked an obvious thing.

Lee Ju-ho didn’t know what to say anymore. Since the injured one himself said he was fine, there was nothing he could do.

“Well, moving around a day after a trial like this means his injury must not be too bad,” he thought, “This is pretty normal.”

After the trial, seven or eight of the ten people usually injured themselves and devoted time to healing and recovering. Lee Ju-ho had been injured many times before as he ascended in the Tower of Trials. But Su-hyeun had not been injured much so far, except for some small wounds. This was the first time he was wounded badly. He was just a special case that he hadn’t been injured much so far. The degree of injury he had now was not something serious compared to others.

“The problem was that it was the first time he was truly hurt, ” Lee Ju-ho thought.

But if Su-hyeun thought this wound was not something special, there would be nothing to worry about. So, Lee Ju-ho decided to not worry about Su-hyeun anymore.

“It’s nothing, but I called you to answer the question you asked the last time and ask you how you through the 20th floor so quickly.”

“That… I used some ignorant way…” Su-hyeun faltered the end because he was not sure how to explain this.

Then, he thought it would be better if he didn’t talk about it, so he closed his mouth. Lee Ju-ho did not ask again as if it was not a big deal. In the end, there was one reason they met.

“By the way, what happened to the thing I asked you? What did the director say?”

“Umm, that…,” Lee Ju-ho sighed and replied, “It is failed.”

When Lee Ju-ho finished talking, there was only a devastating silence in the director’s office. The air felt heavy, it was hard to breathe in there. Kim Do-ui, who followed Ju-ho with a light heart, felt cautious even to swallow. The situation continued like that for a while.

“…That is bullsh*t.” The director opened his mouth in a low voice.

“S-sir?” Kim Do-ui was surprised and called the director.

The word came out because he was embarrassed. He did not open his mouth to say anything. The director gazed at Kim Do-ui. When he got the attention of the director, he was startled. He lowered his head and stepped back.

“Why do you think so?” he asked.

“There’s no basis, is there?” the director asked.

It was obvious. Even Lee Ju-ho thought he had not enough evidence. But that didn’t mean he would step back simply.

“But what if my words are true…”

“Then, bring me that evidence.” The director got up from his seat as if he did not want to listen to him anymore.

“In a month, a dungeon will appear in the sky of Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province? And what’s inside the dungeon will cause an outbreak immediately? So, we have to dispose of awakeners and evacuate the citizens?”

The director listed the things that Lee Ju-ho had asked so far and laughed ridiculously.

“Are you out of your mind?” The director sneered.

“Sir.”

“Do you know how many people live in Anyang City? It’s nearly 600,000 people. Are you saying we have to evacuate all those people? Because of you?”

“Yes. It is the matter with that 600,000 people.”

“If we evacuate 600,000 people, 60 million people in this country will be in fear. Because of your poorly-founded word.”

“…”

“Where did you get that information anyway? If you tell me the source, I will investigate,” the director said.

The source of information, was Su-hyeun, of course. But even Lee Ju-ho did not hear the exact basis of this information from Su-hyeun.

“Just… I heard he got this information from the Tower of Trials.”

“So, it is not you. You just heard from someone.”

“Yes.”

“Then, tell me, who this man is.”

At the end of the director’s remarks, Lee Ju-ho thought a while, “Should I tell him this? If I tell him I know who Kim Su-hyeun is, how with the director react? Should I hide it? But, what if it’s true. Then, hundreds of thousands will die.”

Lee Ju-ho shut his eyes and said, “I heard it from Kim Su-hyeun.”

“Kim Su-hyeun?”

As if that was an unexpected name, the director’s eyes shook for the first time, and so did Kim Do-ui, who was standing next to him.

“Is Kim Su-hyeun… Possibly that…?”

“Yes. He is that Kim Su-hyeun.”

“Did you have an acquaintance with him?”

“I accidentally got in touch and he asked to tell you about this. I don’t know him.”