When Eun-woo opened his eyes, he immediately realized he was alone. The vehicle had stopped, the boxes were gone, and Rong Ye was no longer by his side.
The soft roar of the wind and the pitter-patter of hundreds of drops against the gravel filled his ears. It was raining.
His eyes widened, and a smile spread across his face. Instinctively, he brought his hands to his head and removed his mask as he jumped out of the vehicle. His bare feet touched the wet gravel, and although the fog still obscured his view of his surroundings, that didn't stop him from enjoying the moment.
The tingling of the drops on his skin, the icy breeze, and the humidity enveloping the air. It was perfect.
His sense of smell was filled with a strange, yet pleasant odor, which intensified to his right.
He started walking in that direction, but slipped and rolled down a slope. He ended up with only a few scratches and a body covered in mud. A small price to pay, considering what awaited him at the end of the fall: enormous structures looming before him.
They were trees.
Eun-woo had never seen trees in person.
He didn't have time to allow himself to smile; he felt a prick on his finger that made him look down. Before him stood a strange creature, resembling a jellyfish in its shape, color, and body texture. It also had large eyes like a rabbit's and its limbs were like roots.
The strange creature shuddered, and Eun-woo's blood began to flow from his thumb to the roots. The action didn't cause him pain; on the contrary, it felt pleasantly tingly.
Suddenly, a crash like thunder echoed in the air. Eun-woo flinched and instinctively stepped back. At that same instant, the creature disintegrated before his eyes. It left nothing but a faint vapor and a trail of its blood dissolved among the roots.
Eun-woo turned around in fear and discovered Rhys.
He had shot the creature.
"Did it touch you?!" Rhys lowered his gun and ran toward Eun-woo. "You didn't have to take off your mask!"
Eun-woo ignored Rhys. More of the creatures were slithering on the log behind him. There were too many of them, and their movements were no longer stealthy. He got the feeling they were preparing to attack.
Rhys quickly examined the bite on Eun-woo's thumb, frowning. Then he wrapped one arm around Eun-woo's knees and the other around his back, easily lifting him against his chest. Eun-woo barely had time to react before Rhys had him firmly in his arms and started running.
Eun-woo watched the sky as they moved forward, which had begun to reveal itself as the fog dissipated. By the time he realized it, they had reached their destination. A house with huge windows that covered almost its entire structure. It was like a glass box.
Rhys burst into the room, striding up the stairs and ignoring Caelan, who was carrying boxes down to the basement.
Rhys led Eun-woo to the last door in the hallway, a white-tiled room with a large mirror over the sink and a faint smell of disinfectant in the air. It was a bathroom.
Rhys left Eun-woo sitting on the edge of the bathtub before quickly opening the sink drawer and desperately rummaging through it. Eventually, he pulled out a small glass bottle and a syringe.
"Stay still," he ordered as he prepared the injection.
Just as he was about to inject the drug, Rong Ye entered the room and lunged at Rhys, causing him to drop the syringe. Despite Rong Ye's hands being tied in front of him and his hair being a complete mess, he still looked menacing.
"No chemicals!" he said as he stepped on the syringe.
Behind him, the hurried footsteps of Caelan and Jae were heard, who, upon entering the bathroom, pinned the doctor to the floor.
"I told you to keep it in the basement!" Rhys shouted.
"I'm not going to let you ruin all my research!"
"He got bitten by one of those mutants."
"So what? He's a fucking Esper. Drugs do more damage to him than mutant animal venom." Rong Ye glanced at Eun-woo and frowned. "Tell me he took off his mask after an antiseptic bath."
Rhys slapped his face and shook his head in frustration, earning a disapproving look from Rong Ye. Before the doctor could say anything, Rhys waved his hand, and Caelan dragged him out of the bathroom. Jae followed silently, not intervening.
"I'm sorry I didn't obey..." Eun-woo muttered once they were alone.
"Take a bath," Rhys replied listlessly. "Your room is the one on the left."
And then he left him alone.
After removing his clothes, Eun-woo cautiously turned the shower head on, and a stream of warm water descended on his back. He instinctively stepped back, surprised by the temperature, but then he stilled.
The warmth of the water slid over his skin like a caress, soft and constant, slowly melting the tension accumulated in his muscles.
He had never felt anything like this before.
He closed his eyes and let the water soak his hair, his forehead, his eyelids, running down his face as if washing away his tiredness. It was a soothing sensation.
He leaned against the damp wall, not thinking about time, not worrying about anything. He just wanted to stay there, feeling the steam fill the air and the warmth spread around him.
He liked it, more than he could have imagined.
And so, he let the minutes pass, motionless under the hot water.
Rhys later showed up with a change of clean, dry clothes. The outfit consisted of a red T-shirt, a gray sweatshirt, matching cotton pants, and white socks. He also had a new pair of shoes: black sneakers.
Eun-woo looked at the laces in confusion; he'd never worn that kind of shoe before, and therefore didn't know how to tie them. After several failed attempts, he ended up hiding the ends inside his shoes, hoping that way nothing would come loose. Then he stood up and walked quietly to his room.
The room was simple. The white walls were bare of ornamentation, and there was only a low bed next to a small table with no drawers. There were no lamps, curtains, or any other decorations. The only interesting thing was the huge window overlooking the treetops.
Eun-woo sat on the edge of the bed, hands on his knees, silently observing the room. There was nothing to distract him, nothing to capture his attention.
He stared at the window in front of him for several minutes, thinking of nothing in particular.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do or if anyone would come looking for him.
Finally, he stood up. His steps were slow at first, as if hesitant. Then he crossed the door and left, driven by a mixture of curiosity and the need to stay still no longer.
He hoped to find Rhys and ask him to help him tie his shoelaces, but he didn't find him. Nor did he find Caelan or Jae. So he went down the stairs and down the hallway to a room with a table and several chairs. The three of them were there, talking in low voices as if they didn't want to be overheard.
Eun-woo stopped at the entrance. No one seemed to notice his presence, or if they did, they didn't react. He felt out of place, so he turned around without saying anything and continued wandering around the house.
It was then that he noticed a familiar scent, the same one he had smelled when he found the creature. It came from a lower level, the basement he hadn't yet explored.
The room was dim, barely illuminated by the light that filtered in from the hallway. It was filled with boxes stacked in disarray, taking up almost the entire space. In one corner, almost hidden by the shadows, was Rong Ye. He sat on a small wooden bench, his head bowed, his hands clasped behind his neck, held by a thick chain that kept him immobile.
Eun-woo took a step back, alarmed.
Why did they have him like that?
Rong Ye slowly raised his head. His eyes focused on Eun-woo with some difficulty, but without surprise. He blinked once, and then again, as if making sure it wasn't a hallucination.
"You shouldn't be here," he muttered hoarsely.
Then Rong Ye's eyes glowed a deep purple, illuminating the dimness of the room. At the same time, a subtle, pungent aroma filled the air, a strange yet familiar blend for Eun-woo.
It was at that moment that everything clicked in his mind.
Rong Ye was a Guide.