Summons

He ran away from the world. Traitor.

The words were a strange sequence. Cha Eui-jae stared at the red text and chewed it over for a long time. Traitor, runaway. Runaway, traitor… Have I ever run away?

'I don't think I've ever run away…'

J doesn't run away. He neither had the thought nor the reason to, and besides, if he ran, more people would die. As much as it sounded odd to say, J was a shield in and of himself. Ever since Cha Eui-jae had awakened, he never once doubted his own usefulness.

But why did they say he "ran away"? Pure curiosity stirred. Cha Eui-jae scratched his head for no reason, then reached for the tablet.

"J."

At that moment, something black blocked his vision. Lee Sa-young covered the eye holes of the mask with his palm and pulled the round head toward him. Cha Eui-jae, who had tried to resist, stopped and tilted his head back instead. A blunt voice asked,

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you still reading this kind of nonsense?"

"Huh? Well, there must be a reason for writing this kind of stuff, right?"

"Reason?"

"People don't just say things like this without basis…"

Lee Sa-young scoffed. His fingers, covering the mask's eyeholes, tapped lightly on it. The mask trembled slightly.

"Are you kind, or just stupid…"

"What'd you say, jerk?"

"Do you think crazy people have reasons? Put the tablet away."

"Wait a second, I haven't finished yet. Hey, don't take it away."

"Put it away."

"If you take it away, you're dead."

"Put it away."

"I rank higher than you."

"Didn't expect J to resort to intimidation like some street hunter… using rankings, of all things."

"Ah, and we don't even have popcorn. Having a conflict like this without popcorn is just… Oh, by the way, did you finish the popcorn I brought earlier?"

The younger Mackerel made a joke. Just as Cha Eui-jae was about to pull Lee Sa-young's hand off his wrist, Lee Sa-young quickly slipped his fingers through the gaps in the mask. Cold leather touched the corner of his eyes. Cha Eui-jae glared.

"What are you doing?"

"If I let go now, the mask will come off. Is that okay?"

"I'll break your fingers."

"Go ahead, try."

"…"

The fingers inside the mask wiggled slightly, tickling his eyelashes. It was a teasingly irritating touch. Cha Eui-jae frowned. Of course, he knew Lee Sa-young was doing this precisely because he knew Cha Eui-jae wouldn't break them.

Would he have been able to if he didn't know that Lee Sa-young was that boy?

'…Though, even if I didn't know, I probably wouldn't.'

It felt like he had realized something he wasn't supposed to.

A vein bulged on Cha Eui-jae's forehead. What a sly, cunning bastard! Lee Sa-young had a knack for getting under people's skin. Cha Eui-jae slowly let go of his grip on Lee Sa-young's wrist. But even after that, the fingers didn't budge.

Just as Cha Eui-jae, ready to grab Lee Sa-young's wrist again, asked,

"Hey, aren't you going to pull your fingers out?"

"If I do, you'll immediately pull my hand off."

You think I wouldn't know that? Lee Sa-young teased right by his ear. Damn it. Lee Sa-young knew Cha Eui-jae far too well. Meanwhile, the younger Mackerel threw more fuel on the fire rather than putting it out.

"With the No. 1 and No. 2 getting along so well, the future of South Korea sure looks bright! Right, hyung?"

"Uh, yeah. Right."

No, it's not!

Cha Eui-jae thought hard. Should he drag Lee Sa-young into the video room, lock the door, and neutralize him? It wouldn't be impossible. If it came down to physical combat, he was confident. It might be a bit rough, but S-grade individuals could withstand mild blows, and if he adjusted his strength…

Something hard tapped his head. Probably the bottom of Lee Sa-young's gas mask.

"I can hear the gears turning in your head. You were thinking of hitting me, weren't you?"

Cha Eui-jae, who had been imagining slamming Lee Sa-young onto a bean bag chair, responded indifferently.

"No, I wasn't."

"Why are you so obsessed with this crap? You don't need to see it…"

"Isn't all the info on that site?"

"Ugh, come on."

Lee Sa-young sighed deeply. His fingers, which had been playing with Cha Eui-jae's face, finally slipped out, and the hand pressing on the mask withdrew. Cha Eui-jae blinked slowly as his vision brightened.

The Mackerel brothers, as if they had never held up the tablet in the first place, looked at him with calm expressions. So, they did put it away after all. Before Cha Eui-jae could scold them, two hands landed on his shoulders. Gently, Lee Sa-young turned Cha Eui-jae's body toward the video room. He sighed again and muttered,

"Just go in and finish watching the interview."

"…What?"

Cha Eui-jae blinked. Lee Sa-young, looking like he wanted to die rather than say it, spoke with clear reluctance, pausing between each word.

"Go… watch the cute… version of me."

"Pfft!"

"I don't think I ever said you were cute, though…"

"I'll handle the website."

With a big hand, Lee Sa-young gave Cha Eui-jae a soft shove toward the video room. Just before the door closed, their eyes met. Lee Sa-young's violet eyes were full of irritation. Thud, the door shut.

Standing alone in the dark video room, Cha Eui-jae blinked, scratched his head, and then picked up the remote, pressing play. On the screen appeared the youthful face of the boy, Lee Sa-young, standing on the edge of boyhood and young adulthood. Yet strangely, he didn't seem as captivating as before.

'Why is he trying to hide it?'

Is there information I shouldn't know? Or is he worried I'll get hurt?

"…"

Cha Eui-jae settled into the plush bean bag and tilted his head, staring at Lee Sa-young's indifferent young face. Did Lee Sa-young really think he'd get hurt by a baseless rumor like that? But for such trivial things to wound him, Cha Eui-jae's heart was far too hardened. His heart had already…

Click, click. Flash. He ran away. Traitor. Abandoned and ran away. Traitor.

He left his comrades behind and escaped alone, that filthy traitor. Everyone is waiting for the day you pay for your sins.

For a moment, the screen turned blood red, but soon returned to its original color.

Cha Eui-jae rested his chin between his knees. The young Lee Sa-young yawned softly. The tension in Cha Eui-jae's shoulders eased. Well, if Lee Sa-young didn't want to tell him everything now, then what of it?

'I'll just track him down and shake it out of him later.'

No one can stay silent in front of a fist, right? Cha Eui-jae's knuckles cracked.

***

Screens large and small flickered, emitting a blue glow. Numerous screens surrounded the entire room in a circle.

Lee Sa-young pulled his hand out of his pocket. With each step he took, his image was reflected from various angles on the screens. At the center of the large, dark room, sitting on a desk, the younger Mackerel opened his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.

"It's been a while since you've come here, hasn't it? Man, I can't tell you how bored I've been without any visitors to the deepest parts of this place."

Beside him, the older Mackerel was examining the many screens, one by one. His fingers tapped the air as if typing on an invisible keyboard. The lenses of his glasses gleamed in the bright blue light.

This was the heart of the Fish Market— the Mackerels' office. A place no one could reach without the owner's guidance.

Lee Sa-young gave a curt nod.

"Get to the point. I don't plan on staying away from my post for long."

The younger Mackerel smirked.

"Since when did you and J get so close? Close enough to stick your hand inside his mask?"

"I told you. Get to the point."

"This is the point. I mean, what kind of courtesy is it to place an order and then disappear for three months without a word? You should've at least dropped a hint. Information has a shelf life, you know. It's all gone bad."

"Even rotten information needs to be delivered. That's what an information broker is supposed to do."

"Ah, come on, you've done this enough times to know better."

The younger Mackerel shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, his dark blue eyes glinting. He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger.

"The price has gone up… that's what it means."

"…"

Lee Sa-young tilted his head slowly.

"What do you want?"

The younger Mackerel grinned. He rubbed his thumb and finger together as if counting money.

"I think I know about your relationship with J, so I won't ask. Where have you been for the past three months?"

"Ah…"

Lee Sa-young let out a mocking laugh. It was obvious. Many people must have been curious about his absence, placing orders to find out where he was and what he had been up to. Perhaps wondering if he was plotting something behind the scenes.

"Seems like a lot of people have been wondering about my whereabouts."

"You're a superstar, after all."

"I slept."

"Excuse me?"

The younger Mackerel's eyes went wide. Even the older Mackerel, who had been focused on something else, lifted his head. The younger one got ready to cover his brother's ears and asked again.

"You slept? Oh, with who?"

"What are you imagining? You should get your brain washed."

Lee Sa-young spat out his words.

"I slept. For three months."

"Sleeping for three months straight? That's ridiculous. No, I guess it's possible… but why?"

"I don't know. I collapsed and fell asleep on the day you guys call the 'Day of Change,' and…"

He jerked his chin toward the younger Mackerel.

"I woke up for the first time on the day that picture of me was taken. Is that enough?"

"It's hard to believe you slept all that time without any issues…"

"I said I don't know."

He responded irritably. There was no need to share all the details with an information broker. After all, they wouldn't be able to give him the answers he was looking for. The only one who could answer him was the unwelcome guest inside his own body.

The two Mackerels exchanged glances. When the older one nodded, the younger Mackerel clapped his hands.

"Alright then. On the Day of Change, mutated beings suddenly appeared everywhere. As you know, these mutations were caused by Prometheus' experiments and drugs, which transformed awakened individuals. But, starting from a certain point, in the lower rungs of society— among civilians who hunters typically wouldn't pay much attention to— strange conspiracy theories began to emerge."

With a flick of his fingers, three images floated into view. A black hole that had turned white, like a white hole; a black figure piercing a massive whale, with ash-colored hair fluttering; and a mutated being, subdued and collapsed with a hunter's badge hanging around its neck, while civilians nearby whispered to one another.

"After the Day of Change, rumors started spreading that the awakened were turning into monsters…"