It didn’t seem like Kang Taewon was bringing it up simply because an ankle had been broken.
Kim Sungchan listened a bit more closely to their conversation.
“Acting like he’s the only normal one here, where do you get off running your mouth when you’re the bastard who broke his ankle the moment it even showed the slightest sign of healing, you fucker!”
Kang Taewon’s fury shifted its target this time, from Han Jihyuk to Lee Dohoon.
With his eyes glaring intensely, Kang Taewon snatched Lee Dohoon by the collar.
“You wanna die, you moron? Want me to slice your throat right open?”
“Why are you acting so uncultured? Let’s keep our cool, shall we? Taewon.”
“Does a cultured bastard smash Go Yeonwoo’s ankle like that? Stop spouting such a ridiculous joke.”
With a snort, Kang Taewon thrust his face right up close to Lee Dohoon’s.
“You know what your eyes look like right now? They’ve got that look of a stray dog grinning from ear to ear because they’re so happy Go Yeonwoo’s ankle is crippled, that’s what.”
“Hmm? What kind of nonsense are you saying. Yeonwoo’s ankle turned out like that, so isn’t it only natural to be worried? Logically speaking, why would anyone be happy about that? Our Taewon must have lost his mind, making things so awkward for everyone.”
“Cut the absolute bullshit. Do you take me for a fool when I’ve watched your sorry mug for years? Even a stray dog passing by would sneer at that, you asshole.”
“Both of you, shut up since you’re being loud.”
Han Jihyuk’s voice, which had remained silent the whole time, intervened between the two of them who were arguing without yielding an inch.
Kang Taewon let out an incredulous dry laugh, but Han Jihyuk didn’t even care.
He merely kept his eyes closed and leaned his back against the wall.
At the unspoken gesture that he didn’t want to converse any further, Kang Taewon looked as though he was about to lunge forward, but stopped himself and drove his fist straight into an innocent wall instead.
Crack!
“Damn it!”
Spitting out a curse, Kang Taewon left Lee Dohoon and Han Jihyuk behind and walked straight into the bedroom with the shattered door.
Shin Heesung was visible, clutching Go Yeonwoo’s hand and mournfully burying his face against it.
“It’s a full-on paradise of morons, absolute paradise.”
With the corners of his lips crookedly curled upward, Kang Taewon walked right up in front of Go Yeonwoo.
Then, he gazed down at Go Yeonwoo’s right ankle, which was grotesquely twisted.
“Damn it, this really fucking sucks.”
Kang Taewon couldn’t understand why he felt so foul himself. It was just that some cock socket bastard had crippled his ankle.
Toilet, cock socket, whore. Go Yeonwoo was that kind of existence to Kang Taewon.
That hadn’t changed even now.
Right, that was obvious, yet he couldn’t understand why he felt so thoroughly disgusting.
A thousand fires were blazing inside him, making him want to burn everything to ashes.
Down to the very last speck of dust, leaving not even a trace. Kang Taewon gripped his fist tightly.
If he stayed like this any longer, it felt like he’d smash everything to pieces.
“Hrk, stop…… I was, wrong, please…… Aaaah!”
Just as Kang Taewon turned his body with a distorted face to leave the room, Go Yeonwoo suddenly woke up with a shriek.
“Hn, gasp, hah-huff…….”
While a startled Shin Heesung opened his eyes wide, Go Yeonwoo jerked his upper body up as if having a seizure and breathed heavily.
Even after regaining consciousness, Go Yeonwoo, unable to properly focus his gaze for some reason, slid down from the bed.
“Ah!”
However, unable to walk even a few steps, he collapsed face-first onto the floor.
Clutching his twisted ankle, Go Yeonwoo let out a groan filled with agony.
“Ah-hck, hhk, my ankle, my ankle, hic……!”
Watching that sight, the breathing of Kang Taewon and Shin Heesung turned rough in an instant.
Their heads snapped toward Han Jihyuk, who was staring down at Go Yeonwoo with a rigid face.
At that moment, the two of them lunged at Han Jihyuk simultaneously.
The start of round two had begun.
Driving his car toward the center, Lee Dohoon checked the caller ID as his ringtone chimed and answered the phone.
“Yes. Did you find out?”
[It was just as you expected, Young Master.
Center Director Koo Hyukjun’s movements during his business trip to Japan had gaps here and there.
Wasn’t his trip two weeks long?
Out of that period, Koo Hyukjun officially showed his face at the ability center in Japan for only two days. It was just the first and last day, and there were traces of him heading to a suburban area of Japan in between.]
“Did you find out what he did there?”
[The security was so tight that I couldn’t find out everything, but I secured a few pieces of evidence suspected to be human experimentation.]
“What kind of experiment, precisely?”
[It is presumed to be human experimentation targeting ability users. Not all experimental subjects were ability users; normal people seem to have been included as well. However, those normal people also seem to have been primarily individuals with latent ability energy.]
Hearing the explanation coming through the receiver, Lee Dohoon’s eyes narrowed.
“Then does that mean the massive disappearance of unregistered non-citizens was also because of that experiment?”
[There’s a high probability of that. Since the missing person cases date back to before the center was officially established, this experiment must have been going on for quite a while.]
“It doesn’t seem likely that the experimental site is only in Japan. Are there any other places you suspect?”
[The Chinese side is still being verified, and for the Korean side, I suspect it might be the capital.]
The capital, huh…….
Tilting his head slightly, Lee Dohoon opened his mouth.
“The reason?”
[Center Director Koo Hyukjun spends more time at the center than at his own home. At times, there are no traces of him heading to his residence for days on end. It seems there is likely a secret passage allowing movement from the center to his residence.]
“Plant a few people in the center. People with a grudge against Koo Hyukjun would be even better.”
[Understood. I will send the information I’ve gathered so far via a secure email, so please check it separately.]
“Understood. Contact me right away if investigation progress is made further.”
[Yes. I will do so.]
Finishing the call, Lee Dohoon took in the center building that had begun to come into view in the distance.
It was a high-rise tall enough to be compared to surrounding buildings, with a wide plot of land and an exterior that was dazzling to the extreme.
It was a building with an exterior truly fitting for Koo Hyukjun, who loved to show off.
Passing security, Lee Dohoon entered the underground parking lot within the center building and got out of his car.
He stepped into the elevator and headed above ground.
