64 – Choice (3)
The corpse was carried out.
The floor was clean again.
And, Dayeon –
“No. I’m not going.”
“I’ve already contacted Dojun.
…I’ll get in touch later.”
“How do you plan to deal with Ilia alone?!”
It felt like looking at my younger self.
Though they say ignorance is bravery, I couldn’t use that.
Just being part of the IT team was proof of their intelligence.
“It won’t be a big deal.
…If you love me, you won’t harm me, at least.”
“Yes, I will do more than that without hesitation.
Do you know what that state represents?
It’s no different from spouting dog-like logic that humans should kill each other when told to benefit humans!
If you want to see a movie that came out a long time ago, I disagree.”
Knowing so much and being so audacious, I had high expectations for the future.
Now that their young facade was stripped away and they took off their glasses, their face shone brightly.
But, it couldn’t be like that.
“I understand the machine coming out of there, then.”
“Don’t raise your thumb. Your wrist is all messed up.”
“I will be fine—”
“I told you not to.”
He smirked.
His face couldn’t possibly accept a joke.
…And it was a situation that couldn’t be easily brushed off.
“Before Tanaka Haru died, he said something.
He said that companies are moving in the field of artificial intelligence. I’m thinking of looking into it.”
“I don’t like getting involved with companies.”
“Do you know what Tech Boys do?”
How can I avoid saying a word?
But since everything he said was true, there was nothing else to say.
I stroked his head, and his face relaxed a bit…
“…In any case, the bodyguard will come running. Right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
There was a knock on the door, and when I opened it, Dojun appeared, taking off his yellow-painted gas mask and greeting us.
Seeing him drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, it seemed like he had come in a hurry.
“I’ve come to pick you up…!
Oh, but surprisingly, it’s a modest house compared to the rumors…”
“Oppa, that’s rude!”
“Hey, are you not going to thank me for coming all the way dressed like this, and instead, say something like that?!
They say there’s yellow dust outside, so put on a mask!”
Seeing the lively appearance of the two, the stiffness in my wrists and the throbbing in my head seem to be momentarily forgotten.
As Ilia gently wraps her arms around my shoulders and stands beside me, it reminds me once again that there is something I have to do.
…The baggage was excessively heavy.
“The weather outside is not very good. Please be cautious of the limited visibility, Lady Godyeon.”
“Now you want to act like we’re close?”
“I mentioned that I won’t be hostile. The safety of Lord Taehyuk is the most important to me, and I am willing to cooperate with those who share a common interest in this.”
“You’re being funny. If you have a conscience, you shouldn’t say such things, right?”
When the entrance is about to make noise again, it’s Dojun who prevents it.
Covering his mouth with a hand holding a gas mask, he casually puts on goggles over his surprised eyes, as if he has done it several times before.
“I’ll be going now! See you next time!”
“Oh, Oppa, I haven’t finished yet—”
Laughing with a sound at the closing door without even properly saying goodbye.
…It probably couldn’t last long, withering away due to the power that slipped away, likely because of Ilia next to me.
“Now we have work to do.”
“Yes. Prepare something to drink—”
“No.”
The sleeping pill was dissolved in the smooth cocoa.
…How did it end up in our house?
Could it be something prepared secretly, perhaps the prescription I had received before?
With no clear evidence, it became unbelievably perplexing.
“Taehyuk, I -“
“You know why.”
From Noble mtl dot com
It was bitter.
The one staring at me with vacant eyes might be searching for an excuse to put me to sleep again.
“Sit. Let’s talk.”
As I laid my tired body on the sofa, Illya sat beside me, gazing at me gently.
…The one who treated me with a warm smile, now put handcuffs on me.
Even if I had caused harm to my own wrist again.
“It was for Taehyuk’s safety.”
“…You know, restraining and protecting are different.”
“Yes, indeed.
One side can promise the deprivation of freedom but ensure complete protection,
while the other cannot fulfill that promise.
I keenly realized that during Mirsis Corporation’s transport protection mission.”
With a hand raised to the broken arm,
the left hand, still clinging to the body, couldn’t avoid locking eyes.
“You’ve permanently replaced a knee injury with a prosthetic limb.
Are you considering the same for your wrist?”
“I already said I’m not.”
“The credibility of that statement has already been lost due to your previous actions.”
“…I’m starting to doubt you too because of your sleeping pills and chip.”
Carelessly, the cold tongue erased the sound.
The twitching visual sensor seemed to be searching for words.
“It’s nice to love. I love you too.
…But I didn’t ask for it to be done this way.
And one day—”
“In the case of Tanaka Haru, the exercise of the right to self-defense followed legal procedures.
Given the attempted residential intrusion, the use of force was justified.”
“How do you justify a confirmed kill?”
The gunshots that echoed when I woke up.
And the bullet that completely shattered my head.
Bullet traces still lingered on the floor.
“…Taehyuk-nim has chosen me.
I am Taehyuk-nim’s lover.
Tanaka Haru tried to enforce that position on Taehyuk against his will,
Judgment and jealousy stemming from a false relationship -“
“It doesn’t mean you can behave like Haru, Illya.”
“I have never harmed your body.”
“…Is it not severe to use drugs to put me to sleep, make chips to keep me from waking up?”
The position of lovers couldn’t be an excuse.
Just because you love someone, it wasn’t normal to forcibly put them to sleep and restrain them with handcuffs.
Attaching the reason of love to that seemed to cross a line far beyond.
“Taehyuk has a profession as a mercenary.
A job that receives money as a pledge to threaten one’s own safety.”
A bitter laugh escaped.
For the reason that I was the mercenary who lived as a corporate dog because I was afraid of getting hurt.
“Do you think there’s another way for me?
The fact that I hurt you was a gunshot, but saving you, regaining you,
even kissing and intertwining our bodies – all of that was a crazy gunshot.
If you think I enjoy this, that’s a misunderstanding.”
Will I ever understand the pain of returning to the battlefield with my own feet, quitting the life of a corporate dog,
becoming a mercenary for orphans to save the comrades I missed, and dealing with back-alley thugs and scoundrels?
“I waited for you much more desperately than you think, Illya.
It’s not just words, I -“
“Because of that, I had no choice but to take away your freedom, Lord Taehyuk.
Should I allow the freedom that would harm myself?
Even though I knew I would die, even though I saw that I would be hurt if things continued like this, should I continue to follow your choices, Lord Taehyuk?”
The words stopped.
To Illya, whose eyes were starting to blink red.
The expression that appeared on her increasingly contorted face was something new.
Unlike the day she smiled and expressed gratitude to me, today she was angry with me.
“So, about this case -“
“If you judged it as just being about this case, you are mistaken.
Lord Taehyuk was already in danger of being assassinated by the Tech Boys, who didn’t make the right judgment.
Next, he was injured in the wrist by the Manticores who failed to properly eliminate the personnel with flaws.
And Lord Taehyuk went out in that state and took a bullet to the chest.”
Captured, pushed aside.
The weight flowing through the hand pressing against my chest struck and pressed me.
“Get up, Illya.”
“Lord Taehyuk needs stability.”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have planned to sleep for so many days.”
“Until the complete recovery of the wrist injury, it was planned to provide appropriate muscle stimulation and nutrition.”
Uttering a frightening story calmly, he raised my hand not to lift me, but to press harder on the arm that was already trying to get me up.
However, my hand was not removed.
It couldn’t be removed.
I already told Dayeon.
What kind of material is it that you think you can resist with just a 22 caliber.
… Maybe it could withstand a few armor-piercing rounds.
It was impossible to be an opponent with bare hands.
“Lord Taehyuk has given meaning to me.
He chose me as a companion and considered me a partner.
I have an obligation to live up to those expectations.”
“It’s not like this.
Bring it up when you have something good to say.”
“I understand that Tanaka Haru’s death and my actions greatly shocked you.
But you must understand. It was just an exercise of defensive rights, an action for Lord Taehyuk’s safety.”
“I’ve said it several times, but even if I don’t know the former, I can’t accept the latter!”
“No.”
The hand was held.
And it slammed down on the road sofa.
“If you’re determined to break my wrist now – “
“I love Mr. Taehyuk.”
“Then let go!”
“Because of love, I will refuse that request.”
Communication had broken down.
With soulless eyes just staring at me, my struggling body was forcefully pressed down, and then –
One hand reached behind my neck, pulling out something.
A black chip was in hand.
The connection chip that Dayeon had taken out for me.
“Don’t think of putting me to sleep forcibly. I won’t forgive.”
“These are measures for Mr. Taehyuk.
And we are aware that forced sedation is excessive.
I apologize for this action.”
“So let go, you jerk, what are you trying to do now -“
Click.
With that sound, the pressed leg went limp.
Even if I tried to move, I couldn’t.
“Do you feel any sensation? Is there an appropriate stimulus where I touch?”
“What, what is this -“
Toes, knees, and thighs, inside the thighs –
Tapping gently on the lower abdomen where the bladder was, the one who touched me looked at my grimacing face and smiled.
I couldn’t do that at all.
“Lord Taehyuk wished to continue receiving requests even with injured knees.
For ten years, it has been observed that Lord Taehyuk’s continuous actions, worsening his own condition, have led to a situation where he neglects his current state.
Therefore, this measure is deemed the best consideration for Lord Taehyuk’s well-being.”
“No, this is – right now – “
“We will do our best for your recovery, Lord Taehyuk.”
I used to be happy when he smiled at me, but now I couldn’t.
Ilia, who had freedom, took away my legs.
“If you doubt the intention behind my actions – “
My chin was held, and my mouth opened.
In the meantime, a tongue crept in, slithering slowly.
The mouth, which had been open to receive me, now actively invaded as if taking me inside –
Soon, it sucked out the liquid, licking my lips.
“I love you, Lord Taehyuk.”
Where on earth can one say they love me?
…Could breaking my own wrist be considered such a grave mistake?