“If necessary.”
Cha Rui’s steps came to an abrupt halt at the indifferent and cold reply.
His chillingly fixed gaze shifted to the sky covered in thick smoke.
The ash, carried by the wind, covered the ground like snow.
The acrid smell stung the nose in the murky air, and an uncomfortable sensation like scratching the lungs continued with every breath.
A disaster of this magnitude was akin to a national catastrophe.
However, the Russian side had not intervened at all so far.
Even though it was a remote area far from human traffic, this smoke was not at a level that could be ignored.
The fact that no one had come yet, despite a report surely being filed, was evidence that Russia was intentionally avoiding intervention.
There were two possible conjectures as to why they were being so passive.
“You know that Russia is pretending not to know because this happened during a diplomatic event.”
First, they were assuming that Seo Inho was caught up in the dungeon with the Russian S-Ranks.
The invited guest they had so painstakingly brought over was caught in an unexpected accident during the party.
It was only natural that they would be speechless.
However, the three people who had left the mansion early already knew that wasn’t true.
It was a problem that could be easily solved by just disclosing Seo Inho’s text message, but Cha Rui refrained from making that decision.
He was certain about the culprit, and he couldn’t guarantee how the Russian government would react if he revealed that fact.
“Or is it that you simply have no solution?”
“…”
Do Soohyuk, who had been staring blankly at the air, slowly turned around.
Just by his empty eyes and fragmented way of speaking, one could sense that his patience had reached its limit.
And that remark was the second reason why the Russian government didn’t dare to step forward.
Even with an S-Rank Hunter present, it would be difficult, but currently, there was no way for anyone to control Do Soohyuk’s rampage.
At this point, they could only hope that the damage wouldn’t escalate further.
But if he continued to behave like this, there was no telling how the Russian side would react.
They wouldn’t just sit back and watch this situation unfold forever.
It was possible that an expulsion order might be issued even before they found Seo Inho.
“If you want to stay in this country, don’t cause any more trouble. I don’t want to be kicked out because of you.”
If it were just Do Soohyuk, perhaps, but having the fallout affect himself was simply intolerable.
He hadn’t come here secretly, and even though he was nationally invited, there was a limit to resisting with force.
If an expulsion order was issued, it meant he would ultimately have to leave, however reluctantly.
Cha Rui wanted to find Seo Inho as quickly as possible, and for that, he needed to remain in this country.
He wouldn’t tolerate anyone who got in his way.
“…So, did you find the location of the mansion?”
“One of the two. I’m sure he’s at the other one, so I’m not going to check. It would be a waste of time.”
As a result of quietly investigating, the old man owned a total of three mansions.
For some reason, the last one was blocked by security, making it impossible to obtain any information about it.
Usually, if you kept digging, a small loophole would appear, but this one was completely cut off from the outside.
It was conspicuously concealed, as if someone was deliberately hiding it, fearing detection.
The frustrating situation was that all three locations, including the now-ruined mansion, were confirmed to be in the Moscow suburban forest.
Thankfully, they knew Seo Inho’s last location via his cell phone, but the area was entirely surrounded by forest.
This was the reason why Do Soohyuk was madly stirring up the forest like a lunatic.
“Are you certain that it was Igor, that man?”
“I’m certain.”
Cha Rui had never been more confident.
After all, he was the only one of the three who had smelled Seo Inho.
In the study, he tried to follow Seo Inho to the end, but he was forced to stop his steps when he felt an intense heat.
What Seo Inho was profusely emitting was clearly lust born from excitement.
Seo Inho was highly aroused sexually and was trying to hide it, so Cha Rui couldn’t bring himself to follow.
His choice was to wait in front of the door instead of entering the banquet hall.
He blocked anyone from coming out and silently waited for Seo Inho’s return.
At the time, it was a natural decision since he considered the people in the banquet hall to be the most suspicious individuals.
However, even after the estimated time had long passed, Seo Inho still didn’t show up.
Eventually, Cha Rui, who went upstairs to the second floor to search for Seo Inho, suddenly stopped at the entrance to the bathroom.
It was because he felt the faintly lingering scent of Seo Inho.
Since he had seen him running away with his pants bulging, he could somewhat deduce the faint, erotic smell that led inside the bathroom.
It was probably a sign that Seo Inho, aroused by his own touch, had quickly taken care of things alone.
But the scent, which continued down to the first floor, soon mingled with the sweet smell of champagne in front of the study.
Given how densely it was distributed in the air, it could only be explained as having been spilled heavily.
When he thought that far, the subsequent situation fell into place like a puzzle.
He immediately realized that his decision had been wrong.
It was easy to imagine Seo Inho following someone so submissively with such a bewildered face.
Since all the S-Ranks were gathered in the banquet hall without exception, the culprit was surely someone outside that group.
Who, then, could approach Seo Inho quietly without being noticed?
Someone who could intentionally spill champagne in front of the study and offer him a change of clothes.
Someone who would mask a sinister intention with kindness.
Igor, the owner of the mansion.
Yes, it could only be that bastard.
It was difficult to precisely grasp the content of the text message Seo Inho sent, but since there had been no contact yet, something must have gone wrong.
“Anyway, take it easy. You’re not the only one feeling terrible.”
With that, he had said all he needed to say, and he was about to turn his body to move when Do Soohyuk’s low voice stopped him.
“Where is Woo Jaehyun right now?”
At that question, Cha Rui reflexively scowled.
Not only did he not know why the man was asking him for Woo Jaehyun’s whereabouts, but just hearing the name made his annoyance surge.
“I don’t know, damn it.”
After leaving the mansion, Woo Jaehyun had vanished quietly without a trace.
He seemed to be somewhere in Moscow still, but since Cha Rui had no interest in the man, he had no way of knowing whether he was dead or alive.
Of course, he wasn’t curious at all, either.
Beep-beep-beep-
It was starting again.
That damned mechanical sound was once again digging into my nerves at perfectly regular intervals.
Like before, it continued ceaselessly for hours, maybe days.
Since I couldn’t see and couldn’t even twitch a single finger, I had no idea how much time had passed.
No, did I even have fingers left?
It felt as if my physical body had long disappeared, and only a faint consciousness remained, drifting in the darkness.
It felt like being trapped in a void where the flow of time was meaningless, a space of eternal repetition.
Beep-beep-beep-
But that nerve-scratching sound followed me, never moving even slightly away.
And only from the right side, specifically.
I wanted to tell them they were about to succeed if their goal was to drive me insane.
Click.
But then it happened.
For the first time, a different sound was heard amidst the monotonous mechanical beeps.
A familiar metallic sound, like someone turning a doorknob.
As soon as I sensed that small human presence, I was miraculously able to quickly grasp reality.
I had finally woken up from the long nightmare and returned to the real world.
The place I was in was not a hellscape, nor was it a space of eternal, repeating darkness.
‘Did you record the patient’s condition check for today? Is his consciousness level still GCS 3?’
‘Yes, there has still been no reaction. His heart rate is… 78 beats per minute, which is within the normal range.’
‘How’s his breathing? Did you check his oxygen saturation?’
‘Oxygen saturation is stable at 95%. But his breathing is a bit fast, so I checked it at 12 breaths per minute. It might be a temporary issue, but we need to keep monitoring him.’
‘This patient brought in is truly severe. To be honest, I was shocked when I first saw him. It’s a miracle that he’s alive… Has his guardian been contacted yet?’
‘No, his mother is confirmed not to be in the country currently, and we can’t reach his father at all.’
‘He’s so young, how did this happen…’
I was speechless for a moment, listening to the conversation between the two women who seemed to be nurses.
I couldn’t actually speak, but I was in a state of great shock.
‘This is a hospital?’
The sound that had tormented me all day was none other than the mechanical beeping from the vital signs monitor.
It was shocking that I was still alive, and I absolutely could not accept the reality of being in a vegetative state.
How was such a thing possible when I was practically half-dead, giving off the stench of rot?
Most importantly, this was by no means a miracle.
How could a state where only the mind was awake, but the body was dead, be called a miracle?
The only difference from when I was wandering in the darkness, not knowing anything, was that I had realized the reality.
That is to say, this was another hell for me.
Shake.
Someone was gripping my shoulder and lightly shaking me.
I fluttered my eyes open at the contact, then closed them again, tossing and turning in frustration.
I muttered to myself in my sleep and whined a little.
But the hand that shook my shoulder again was not something I could ignore.
My head was shaking, too, so I finally had to groan and open my eyes.
“W-what!”
And at the large figure right in front of me, I was so startled that my body flew backward.
Thankfully the bed was large, or I would have tumbled off.
I awkwardly flailed, throwing off the blanket, and immediately entered a state of alarm.
“It is time to get up, it is time for breakfast.”
I was tense, thinking it might be Igor, but Rod was standing silently by the bed with the same expression as yesterday.
He stood his ground expressionlessly, unperturbed by my fuss.
“Breakfast?”
But I raised one eyebrow at the word ‘breakfast.’
I had just been looking out the window while waiting for Chirpy a moment ago, so I didn’t understand what he meant.
‘Uh…’
And as my gaze reached the window, bright sunlight was already streaming in dazzlingly.
