62 – Choice (1)
“Illia?!”
The girl was accustomed to gunshots.
Her older brother, who spent a considerable amount of time at the shooting range and was now in charge of security duties, was the reason.
Sometimes, he would boast about weapons, further familiarizing her with them.
Above all, after falling in love with a mercenary, she became even more acquainted with firearms.
And before her eyes, there lay a shipwrecked figure, a small woman.
She wasn’t a child, yet her stature was ambiguous, not easily classified as an adult.
“Ha, ah, ah…”
She was somehow trying to press the gushing blood with her hands, but the cold, dark barrel of a gun loomed over her head, narrowing the distance.
“I warned you.”
“Hu, gak… ugh…”
Wincing in pain, contorting her face, her body gradually staining the floor with red in the entrance hall.
Da-yeon silently observed the scene from inside the room.
“Tae-hyuk, Tae-hyuk! Please wake up, you need to wake up!”
“Ugh…”
Certainly, a gunshot that rang in the ears like a piercing scream.
But outside was surprisingly quiet, and the fallen gunman showed no signs of waking up.
In that moment, the mechanical eyes fixed on her.
That too, for some reason, flashing in red.
“Hick -“
Should one be relieved that the muzzle is not directed at them?
Or should they fear the front door closing tightly – the locks hanging above locking one by one?
Just as they were about to tuck their trembling hand into their clothes, thinking of the presence of a self-defense pistol.
“I’ll tell you in advance. A .22 caliber pistol does not inflict meaningful damage on me.”
Ilya stood in front of the door.
Still breathing heavily, inhale, exhale – with the woman groaning in pain behind her.
“Well, um -“
“Yes, my body is a female model. At the same time, the internal frame and skin are prepared to withstand above-average protection against various damages. Please refrain from any meaningless resistance or other attempts. Will you comply with this demand?”
“Huh, huh -“
Nevertheless, Dayeon pulled out the pistol, intending to aim the muzzle at Ilya with her trembling hand –
“Kyaa!”
Driven by the force of seizing the gun, it collided with the floor.
Between the legs standing before her, the woman struck by the gun was looking at her.
And in front of that, a magazine and a single bullet fell.
Together with the disassembled pistol.
“Miss Godayeon, considering my personal friendship with Mr. Taehyuk, I hope you won’t treat me with hostility.”
The adversary speaking those words before her eyes, no,
In the form of a machine created for war, the girl sadly trembled.
For whom she came, she had even forgotten the reason, holding onto the bedpost, she only sobbed.
“You, you shot a person. What did that person do…!”
Seeing her still twitching body, it seemed she was still alive –
But thinking about the red-stained middle of her abdomen, it was by no means a good situation.
Her brother had told her once.
No matter how advanced medical technology is now, if you mess with the organs, humans die too easily.
That’s why bulletproof vests are always important.
The girl thought it was clear, Illya, who disassembled the pistol in an instant and threw it to the ground, knew that fact.
In other words, she was determined to kill.
At the moment when she was about to be overwhelmed by fear that she might become the target herself.
“I am Tanaka Haru, who fractured Mr. Taehyuk’s wrist, a receptionist from Manticore Mercenary Company.”
“…What?”
A single word echoed in the room, completely flipping her thoughts.
Turning around, grabbing the woman’s foot, pulling her into the house, and staring blankly ahead for a moment…
Soon after, Godayeon, as if possessed, followed behind and spoke.
“The person who caused the fracture, is it that person?”
“Yes, that’s right. They are a dangerous individual who attempted to kidnap Tae Hyuk right in front of me.”
“…Huh, Tae Hyuk, seems quite popular.
Inside the house, three women – hmph…”
After drawing a red line with people on the living room floor, Illya rummaged through her pocket and took out her phone.
With a simple change of her eyes to blue, she easily unlocked the phone that had been locked.
Then, as if showing no interest in the bleeding woman, she turned around and moved her fingers.
“Well, well… the person who hurt Tae Hyuk.
But why all the way here…”
“They unilaterally liked Tae Hyuk and used the advantages of our work relationship to pressure him.
However, not only did he frequently reject them, but also due to the burden caused by excessive contact, he stopped responding to their calls, which they were dissatisfied with –
They harmed him because they couldn’t accept our relationship.
Last time, I shot them and drove them away, but it seems they used their informational advantage inherent in their profession to come to Tae Hyuk’s residence.”
“Machine… huh, machine theme, what? Companion, edition?
Who helped Tae Hyuk with his work? Who helped you, huh, who helped you find the money to fix you…!
After the training operation, for ten whole years, you couldn’t do anything, just a program or something – and now you’re by that person’s side?”
The girl quietly observed the two of them.
Then, lying in the room, she glanced at Tae Hyuk, who only furrowed his brow.
…Clearly, something was happening, but she felt strange that she couldn’t wake up from her deep sleep.
“So you’ve been given an honest disposition. Was it a lie that you were given vacation?”
“Did you overhear the conversation? Isn’t it intense…? Meddling in other people’s affairs too.”
“I, Illya, am the person recognized by Mr. Taehyuk as his lover. It’s not you who consistently raised stress levels.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Dayeon felt no sympathy for the fallen woman, especially considering the fact that she had broken her wrist.
However, she still felt fear towards Illya, who was just playing with her phone, having created such a situation.
Also, Taehyuk’s condition.
If he had fainted, he would have said so.
But being unable to wake up after falling asleep was peculiar.
Especially, if she had just nursed him, there wouldn’t be those marks on his wrists and ankles.
Unless she had the taste for such a twisted and dark preference, filled with whips and all sorts of black leather, hidden in the abyss of the internet.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not an ordinary artificial intelligence, are you?”
“Since I am in a romantic relationship with Mr. Taehyuk, no, I’m not ordinary.”
Backing away slowly, she cautiously hid herself in the room.
Approaching the man lying on the bed, she opened his eyelids.
Eyes turned inside out. But a body with no sign of movement.
“Do you know that many companies have been moving a lot recently? In terms of artificial intelligence. Something weird is going on, they say. They are recalling products with intimacy modules installed, used in stores or as droids, saying abnormal activities have been detected. If strange activities are found in products with intimacy modules, they recall them and create a fuss. You might end up as scrap metal to be disposed of, right?”
Outside, Tanaka Haru reluctantly succumbed to Ilia’s provocation, beginning to indulge in malevolence.
Once, he himself had let emotions boil within him with a growl… but now, that wasn’t important to the girl.
To awaken the motionless Taehyuk, Dayeon began to exert all her strength.
Shaking him,
“Mr. Taehyuk…! Please wake up…!”
She brought her mouth close to his ear, whispering,
“…Uh – “
There was a response.
The problem was that there was only a response.
Being unable to rise, merely uttering groans was undoubtedly a peculiar occurrence.
“Uh, uh…”
“Please, try to wake up… Why can’t you regain consciousness…?”
Dayeon’s eyes froze as they accidentally caught a glimpse of the neck, swaying as she shook him.
It was when she saw a single shining green dot.
“Upgrading and even a connection… Wait, could it be?”
Immediately turning her face to the side, she felt around the insertion point where the chip was inserted, and soon found something popping out as she dug with her hand.
The sudden transition from warm skin to a rigid boundary.
On top of it, there was something in a straight black line.
A chip.
No matter what he did, a chip was embedded in his body, preventing him from getting up.
“If it’s because of this that you can’t get up right now, then -“
With a slight exertion of force on his finger,
– Click.
Along with the sound, the green light changed to red.
Pulling it out with his hand, a black piece, slightly warm and with no markings, was lifted.
At the same time, the man opened his eyes, frowning.
“Uh, uh…!”
“Taehyuk!”
“Ilya…? No, you… Dayeon?! Why are you here -“
Dayeon finally hugged the man who opened his mouth.
Even though the parts of a disassembled gun clung to her foot, it didn’t matter.
The beloved person she had missed was finally awake, looking at her.
“I’m glad you woke up, really…!”
With a slightly swollen face and a grown beard, he blinked his blurry eyes and waved his left hand in the air.
Unable to speak, he only mumbled with dry lips.
“Are you okay? A chip was inserted. It seems Ilya did it. Do you happen to know what happened?”
“Ilya? Ilya… gave me cocoa, and then…”
His incoherent rambling didn’t look sharp at all,
and the once impressive mercenary seemed too shattered to be called that.
That painful sight crumpled the face of the girl who harbored a one-sided love.
Imagining how she would have reacted if he had taken care of her, at least she would have lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Cocoa? But that’s not important right now; outside, there’s…”
Trying to get up, a hand, larger and rougher than hers but still warm, pulled her gently, holding her hand.
Within the broad embrace, he softly brought what was hers, pointing to the open door.
– Thud.
A loud sound accompanied the moment when blood and flesh splattered.