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Tap.
In front of him lay a long hallway.
An endlessly long corridor bounded by darkness, with black mist as his walking companion. The only light source he held was a candle that was slowly melting away.
Tap.
He kept walking. In the increasingly cold atmosphere, he searched for a way out of this sickening Darkness. His throat felt choked, as if he could run out of breath at any second.
Tap.
Walking...
Keep walking...
Creak.
Light seeped in through an opening crack, gradually illuminating the surrounding darkness. The man wearing the wolf mask closed his eyes, blinded by the sunlight.
Blink.
The view before him was a dorm room vastly different from his own. There were no special belongings, and it looked dirty and messy as if a burglar had just broken in.
The first thing he did upon waking from the bed was clean up the room. He picked up the clothes, separating the dirty ones from the clean ones. He folded the clean clothes and blankets, then arranged the pillows and books scattered around the room. Once everything felt tidy, he smiled with relief.
Then, he walked over to the mirror.
He examined his reflection. A man with dull black hair, pitch-black eyes, and a desire to die.
B quickly concluded that he was possessing the body of someone on the verge of death.
But for what purpose? There was no manual stating that a Darkness could affect a person's body in such a specific way. He only knew about contamination, and contamination did not mean he could jump into someone else's body.
Tap.
Let's think while walking.
Tap.
He touched the tips of his new body's bang, they were quite long. He twirled a stray strand of hair as he kept walking and thinking.
The building he was walking through started to feel familiar.
Logos in several spots showed that this place was still Daydream, though it had undergone rapid progress. B turned toward a calendar mounted behind the reception desk, 202X, thirty years from the last time he entered a Darkness.
Too real to be called an illusion.
B touched the glass windows along the corridor. Looking down at the view below the Daydream building was like watching worker ants. They swarmed in large numbers, forming small groups holding hands to support one another. There was a touch of cheerfulness on every worker's face, a stark contrast to the gloom that gnawed at the workers outside the three elite Squads thirty years ago.
Hm, he gently touched his chin. I see. Let's gather more information.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened, and B randomly pressed a floor number.
15th Floor.
Ding!
A change had occurred in the interior style, made much more elegant than thirty years ago. Several rooms had been added on the side that used to be empty space.
B glanced at a door labeled 'Squad B Waiting Room.'
He knocked.
A stranger opened the door for him, not one of his squad members, but someone much younger, like a new recruit.
"Yeah? What do you want?"
And rude, too. Puffing out his chest with arrogance painted across his face, though it still felt unrefined, as if he had only recently picked up the habit.
B offered a faint smile, his eyes looking down, viewing this new member of the elite Squad as nothing more than a failed little ant.
"Is your Squad Leader Ryu Gabin?"
"No. My Squad Leader is Kang Soekju. You can't even remember an elite's name correctly. Where are you from?"
"I'm from HR."
The employee in front of him just let out a long 'oh' and went back inside the room.
Confirmed.
Thirty years from the time he entered the Darkness, he was no longer the leader of Squad B. One of the squad members whose name he had just mentioned was no longer a Daydream employee either.
Tap.
Tap.
He stepped back into the elevator, his finger hovering over the buttons inside.
Which floor should he head to?
There was one person he wanted to check on.
He pressed the number for the 17th floor.
Ding!
A hallway where several employees in lab coats walked back and forth. A floor dedicated to R&D lab work to research new Darknesses. His target was a researcher who loved researching above all else, and with that mindset, only retirement could ever pull that person away from Daydream.
Besides, contamination in a researcher was extremely rare.
Furthermore, the man B knew was a clever individual who could navigate out of dangerous situations after weighing several possibilities, a very tenacious man.
He knocked.
Operating hours hadn't officially started yet, so no one was disturbed. A woman with her hair tied in a low ponytail opened the door.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Kwak Jekang."
"Manager Kwak isn't in right now."
"Could you tell me where he usually is?"
"Well, I need to confirm why you want to see him first." The woman offered a stiff smile, trying to be friendly but not quite pulling it off. B judged her to be a very kind yet rigid person. "If it's just to hand in a report, I can point you to Manager Kwak's desk."
I'm an old friend, he said. He scratched the back of his neck, acting nervous. His eyes turned pleading. "I... I really admire him and want to ask him a few things... He's... the only person who might be able to help me."
Not entirely a lie.
The woman deliberated.
Not so easy to fool, huh?
B acted nervous again, slowly cupping the woman's small palm inside his grip. "I really need to know where he is... There are questions only he can answer. Please, this is extremely important for my life."
"The manager usually meets with people from the security team. He's down in the basement area."
"Thank you."
The basement area, huh?
B nodded weakly.
His feet carried him to the mentioned area. Unlike the other floors, the basement appeared deserted. An unsettling, chilly draft blew every time he took a step, as though the place he stood in was the Darkness itself.
He touched his lips, tapping them slowly as his attention shifted to his surroundings. Not many doors were installed, making it feel like a hallway simply not meant for crowds.
[Security Management Office]
He knocked.
Someone opened the door for him, this time, a friendly-looking man. He smiled at him, despite the noticeable dark circles under his eyes.
B observed the man, secretly feeling a sense of pity. The guy was clearly still young, and being contaminated meant spending more than half his life struggling with whispering voices inside his head, haunting voices declaring the most inhumane things.
"Is there something I can help you with?" the man asked. B's eyes moved to check his name tag. Security Team, Park Minseong.
"Is Kwak Jekang from the R&D department here?"
"Manager Kwak took Sergeant J3 out about an hour ago, and they haven't come back since."
The front of B's foot tapped against the floor.
"What's their relationship?"
Park Minseong held his chin, his eyes closed with deep wrinkles forming between his brows. "I... honestly don't really understand their relationship."
"Are they fighting?"
"No... ah, or maybe? I really can't say for sure. Their relationship is very ambiguous, and I feel uncomfortable asking. It feels like a boundary I can't just cross whenever I feel like it."
Kwak Jekang was someone who only moved if he liked something.
If Kwak Jekang went to meet that person first, the only conclusion was that the researcher was deeply interested.
"Are they a couple?"
Park Minseong frowned, taking a long pause before deciding to answer. "No. I don't think so... If you mean exes, that's possible."
B nodded.
"Do you have a map?"
"Um?"
"I need to find Kwak Jekang. I need a map to check all the spots in the basement. If you have a marker, please give me that too."
Park Minseong hurried inside and returned with what B requested. "I only have a pen."
"That's enough. Hand it to me."
Park Minseong handed the items over.
The man stared at him.
"Tell me what you want to ask."
"What is your relationship with Manager Kwak?"
B wanted to use the same excuse he gave the researcher earlier, but after hearing Park Minseong's statement, his pride wouldn't let him. Instead, honesty came out smoothly as he intended.
"I'm his boyfriend."
That set the boundary.
If the person Park Minseong mentioned came back, hopefully the man in front of him would care enough to stop that person from getting any closer to Kwak Jekang.
Even if many things would happen between him and Kwak Jekang in the thirty years after he entered the Darkness, the current B was the B from a time when he still loved and was loved by Kwak Jekang. A boyfriend who was proud of their status, and a wolf marking his ownership over someone.
He was still the B who was head over heels for Kwak Jekang.
Tap.
He opened the map, the basement layout was simpler than he expected. There were only a few rooms and a restroom.
A few rooms were marked in red, usually indicating danger or requiring special access.
The only unmarked areas were the security management office and the restroom. He circled the place he had just visited, then focused on the restroom, which was a freely accessible location.
If Kwak Jekang was involved in a conversation with J3, whom Park Minseong suggested might be an ex-lover, it could easily be a private conversation.
B smirked. A private conversation required a private place.
A restroom stall could be one of them.
And since they were both adults, a dark assumption sped up his pace.
Tap.
His shoulder bumped into someone, but instead of apologizing, he kept walking.
Tap.
Faster.
Tap.
He didn't slow down at all until he stopped in front of the door. His hand moved to grab the door handle, turning the knob rapidly, pulling and opening the door as hard as he could.
Yet, no one was there.
He almost turned to leave, but the faint sound of someone sobbing reached his ears.
He approached the stall where he was certain someone was inside, totally unprepared.
"Are you—"
"Go away!"
Ah, Kwak Jekang's voice.
"I was sent to pick you up. Are you alright in there?"
"Didn't I tell you to go away...? Hic."
Sob after sob.
B felt a bitter taste on his tongue, his anger flaring from a single thought, the sergeant Park Minseong mentioned was the reason Kwak Jekang was crying.
It bothered him.
The Kwak Jekang he knew never cried, even when a heavy burden rested on the researcher's shoulders. He was a fiercely independent man who tried to handle everything without relying on others.
Kwak Jekang was not a crybaby.
Just how much distress did that sergeant cause to make the researcher cry inside a bathroom stall at a time like this?
Sigh...
He caressed the door in front of him, wishing he could pull Kwak Jekang into his arms. Poor child... thrown away by someone.
"I'll wait until you calm down. Please give me a sign when you want to come out."
"I told you to go away."
"Just pretend I'm already gone. There's no one in front of your stall door."
"Weirdo," Kwak Jekang commented. B could faintly hear the sound of clothes brushing against skin. Kwak Jekang was hurriedly wiping his tears away. "Just leave me alone."
"Only if you answer my question."
No answer...
B asked anyway.
"Was it that sergeant who made you cry?"
"Just leave me alone."
"Is he really your ex-boyfriend?"
"We were never supposed to break up."
" Do you love him?"
"Yes... though I'm not sure if it's obsession, guilt, or both."
"What about your previous boyfriend, your first boyfriend?"
"He... was my first boyfriend."
B nodded. He understood.
"I suggest you two break up."
Kwak Jekang chose not to answer.
B ruffled his own hair. The sound of the door opening made him turn his head. A thin man with a slouched posture made B raise an eyebrow, putting him on high alert. A dark blue uniform and a matching cap, the security team uniform Park Minseong was wearing earlier.
His eyes checked the name tag.
Security Team, Sergeant J3.
So this unappealing man was the one who managed to break Kwak Jekang's heart.
What a shameless jerk.
"Follow... me," J3 commanded, his quiet voice sounding weak yet devoid of hesitation. Yellow eyes stared directly at B, causing B's guard to spike dramatically.
There was a familiar sign he couldn't quite put into words.
Tap.
He stepped forward, following the man.
"Are you close with Kwak Jekang?"
J3 glanced back, his tired face hidden behind a white medical mask. "You don't belong here."
"Hm?"
"You're not needed," this time his posture straightened, looking exceedingly confident as he stared at B. It reminded B of himself. "Your scent is familiar—a scent from the past."
Those yellow eyes.
"I don't understand why you treat Kwak Jekang like that."
"It's for his own good."
That composure.
J3 lowered the mask covering half his face. A face that was a flawless copy of B's own face.
His future self, who had been contaminated yet retained his memories intact.
But was he pretending not to know Kwak Jekang?
If it was him, he understood the reason.
"Sometimes you have to be brave enough to protect someone," B said calmly, his lips curling into a smirk as uncontrolled frustration welled up inside him. He had to suppress it, he was someone from the past. "But thankfully, in the future, I still look out for Kwak Jekang. Even if, deep down, I ended up becoming a jerk."
J3 let out a sigh, asking no questions as to why his past self could be in the future.
"I don't like seeing him cry."
"He cried?"
J3 almost stepped inside, but stopped himself. The man just stood there with a sorrowful look, hesitating between going in or just waiting.
B shoved the man's shoulder.
"You're going to lose him if you keep pretending."
In the end, the man walked inside.
Black mist wrapped around his surroundings, and the candle returned to his hand, already melted, leaving only a dim glow.
Tap.
He kept walking.
Tap.
The darkness welcomed him, crowding into his heart.
Tap.
A bright light appeared.
A wave of dizziness messed with his vision, blurring everything before gradually turning clear again.
The first thing he saw was Kwak Jekang.
"Oh! You pulled it off again."
"I'm sorry."
"Hm?"
"I love you."