Gi-jun responded as if it were no big deal.
“Oh, this?”
Eunha, who had just witnessed a shocking sight in the middle of the night, felt a headache coming on.
‘What kind of mess did these lunatics get into this time!?’
In her judgment, Lee Taeseong was an unpredictable person—no one could anticipate what he might do next.
He seemed to have his own beliefs and standards, but the biggest problem was that no one else could understand them.
“Taeseong, Gi-jun, we absolutely must not lay a hand on civilians except in truly exceptional circumstances.
And this isn’t even our country; we’re abroad! Have you forgotten the basic protocols!?”
It was already an established fact that Lee Taeseong was a top-tier lunatic, and Gi-jun, who had been directly under his command, couldn’t possibly be normal either.
Eunha was convinced that this was why such a disaster had occurred.
“They put sleeping pills in our drinking water.”
“Slee—sleeping pills?”
“Yes. I don’t know where they got them from, but they were quite potent.”
Only then did Eunha realize why she had fallen into such a deep sleep.
As someone who suffered from chronic insomnia, she had never slept this soundly in an unfamiliar place.
Her mind began racing.
The missing villagers.
The only inn still operating.
The Japanese management team that had yet to arrive.
“Could it be…?”
Calm before the storm were usually accurate.
Thirty minutes earlier.
“Captain, are you awake?”
“I’m not sleeping.”
“This reminds me of the old days. Back in the military, we used to camp all the time, and I don’t think I ever slept comfortably.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. If we let our guard down, we’d get our heads cut off. Sleeping comfortably was out of the question. Well, except for you, Captain—you could sleep anywhere. I never imagined I’d see you again like this. When you disappeared, we searched everywhere, but you were nowhere to be found. I never thought you’d be caught up in dimensional travel…But I’m really glad you’re safe. The others will be overjoyed to hear this. We all went through so much.”
Gi-jun was genuinely happy about their reunion.
To the memory-lost Taeseong, Gi-jun was just another person who knew his past.
But to Gi-jun, Taeseong was his saviour—someone who had saved his life countless times and a superior he deeply admired.
“…Do you really not remember anything?”
“No. Occasionally, fragments of memories from both this world and the other surface, but nothing substantial.”
Gi-jun’s face darkened at those words.
It was disappointing that his comrade, who had crossed the line between life and death with him many times, could not remember him.
However, Gi-jun soon brightened up and spoke energetically.
“Don’t worry! I’m sure your memories will come back soon. When they do—”
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Me?”
“Yes. From our conversation, I understand that you were once a soldier in the same unit as me. But I still don’t understand how you ended up with the Tree. You weren’t one of their administrators with strange abilities back then, were you?”
“That’s right… I never imagined I’d end up living like this. When I was in the military, I had no idea this kind of world even existed.”
Gi-jun muttered bitterly and began to speak about his past.
“After I was discharged, I got a job at a security firm and lived an ordinary life. I met someone wonderful and even got married. I was happy. As an orphan, it was the first time I had a real family. Oh, don’t misunderstand! I consider our unit like family too, but you know it’s not the same legally, right?”
“Just continue your story.”
After his discharge.
Gi-jun lived a stable life—no gunfire, no battlefield stench.
He worked hard, bought a house, and built a family with the woman he loved.
Even though PTSD from his military days haunted him at times, his wife’s love and care helped him overcome the nightmares that plagued him every night.
He believed that this happiness would last forever.
But fate laughed at his wish.
One day, without any warning, his wife vanished.
As if she had never existed in the first place.
Gi-jun couldn’t understand it.
She had disappeared.
Vanished into thin air.
Devastated, he quit his job and used every resource he had to find his wife.
Years passed, and he searched the entire world, yet he couldn’t find even the smallest clue.
Despair emerged.
His anger toward the world grew.
Perhaps it was then that his powers first awakened.
He had no idea why he had gained such abilities.
Just as breathing was natural for humans, his powers had surfaced naturally.
“And that’s when Tree’s agents approached me. They gave me two options: Either be contained as an anomaly in their facility or work for them as an administrator. If I chose containment, I might be classified as a ‘safe’ entity and eventually reintegrated into society, but I knew the chances were slim. And I didn’t have time for that.”
“So you took the offer.”
“Yes. They already knew my situation. They promised to help me find my wife if I cooperated. They suggested that a supernatural phenomenon might have been involved in her disappearance. That gave me a sliver of hope.”
“Is that why you volunteered for this Japan operation?”
“Exactly. I received intel that a woman matching my wife’s description had been spotted in Japan. Even if it’s a mistake, I need to see for myself to be sure.”
Realizing that Gi-jun wasn’t so different from himself, Taeseong remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“…I hope you find her.”
“Haha, I will. Definitely. By the way, Captain.”
“What is it?”
“You felt it too, didn’t you?”
Taeseong remained silent, unsure how to respond to Gi-jun’s sudden remark.
But Gi-jun, taking his silence as agreement, spoke with admiration.
“I knew it! Even without your memories, your body still remembers. You’re amazing, Captain.”
‘What the hell is this guy talking about?’
Taeseong could somewhat understand why Gi-jun idolized him, given their past, but it seemed a bit excessive.
“Why do you think the innkeepers drugged our water? And with such a strong, fast-acting sedative at that. Don’t you think it’s suspicious?”
“…You’re right.”
Only now did Taeseong learn the truth.
In the past, during his harsh military experiences, Gi-jun had developed the ability to detect nearly any poison or drug. He quickly noticed that something was off with their water. Naturally, he assumed Taeseong would realize it too, but that was Gi-jun’s mistake.
Unaware of anything unusual, Taeseong had gulped down the water without hesitation. Yet, the reason he was still awake was not due to vigilance, but because his body was so resilient that this level of sedative wasn’t enough to put him to sleep.
‘I thought the water tasted pretty good… Turns out the secret ingredient was the drug.’
At that moment, Taeseong sensed movement outside. He brought a finger to his lips and whispered, “Quiet.”
Gi-jun nodded, held his breath, and pressed himself against the wall to the left of the door.
Clack.
As the door creaked open, the innkeeper couple entered, only to be swiftly subdued and tied up by Gi-jun. Naturally, he used the rope that the elderly couple had brought with them.
“This is how it happened.”
“They even brought rope… That can only mean one thing—they were targeting us from the start.”
“That’s the only explanation.”
Letting out a sigh mixed with frustration, Eunha approached the bound elderly couple.
“Why did you drug our water? What exactly were you planning to do after tying us up?”
“……”
Despite her repeated questioning, the couple remained silent.
Eunha’s frustration boiled over, and her voice turned icy.
“Hah… So you’re just going to keep your mouths shut?”
Watching the scene, Gi-jun smirked and glanced at Taeseong.
“What should we do, Captain? Should we handle this our way? Give me ten minutes, and they’ll spill everything down to their distant relatives.”
“Gi-jun, that’s…”
Taeseong knew exactly what Gi-jun’s “way” meant—it was the same ruthless methods he used to extract information from enemies back in the military. And he was well aware of just how brutal those methods could be.
As much as Taeseong wanted to accept Gi-jun’s suggestion, the couple were civilians. They couldn’t resort to torture without first understanding their true intentions.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Taeseong shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Understood.”
For now, they would hold off.
Observing the exchange, Eunha muttered in exasperation.
“…Seriously. Who’s really in charge here?”
At that moment—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Urgent knocking filled the room.
It was coming from the direction of the window.
Striding over, Taeseong pulled back the curtain to reveal Hayeong, looking pale with fear.
Startled, Eunha shouted, “Haeyoung!?”
Clack.
The sliding glass door opened, and Haeyoung stumbled inside, struggling to catch her breath as she spoke in rapid bursts. Sweat drenched her from head to toe, a sign that she had run all the way here.
“Hah… The Red… Hah… Mask… Hah… The administrators…”
“Haeyoung, take a deep breath first. Then tell us—what happened outside?”
Realizing her own state, Haeyoung forced herself to take deep breaths.
Once her breathing steadied, she spoke urgently.
“T-The Red Mask appeared!”
At those words, everyone except Taeseong went pale.
“The Red Mask? You mean the one from those urban legends?”
“Haeyoung, are you sure? The Red Mask?”
Even in that brief moment, Taeseong didn’t miss the subtle change in the elderly couple’s expressions.
‘They reacted the moment they heard the name “Red Mask.”’
Haeyoung nodded furiously.
“Yes! She’s real! A woman over 190 centimeters tall, wearing a red mask, holding something like a pair of scissors… No, that’s not the important part! I found bodies on the street! They were wearing the same suits as the administrators from Tree. I think they were the ones sent from the Japan branch!”
As Haeyoung spoke, she noticed something strange—
Eunha and Gi-jun were staring at her with expressions as pale as if they had seen a ghost.
“Why are you all…”
Before she could finish her thought, she realized that the space around her was gradually darkening.
As if something enormous was blocking the light above her.
“…Found you.”
“Oh Haeyoung, duck!”
