(Truth pt.5)

Countless questions overwhelmed Kim In-woo. But In-woo now didn’t even have the energy to find answers. Betrayal, resentment. More powerful than those enormous emotions, what wrapped around In-woo now was the sensation in his hands when he stabbed the man and the smell of death that vibrated through the living room.

One thing was certain – Kim In-woo’s happiness had been nothing but a castle in the air. As soon as the truth was revealed, that happiness had collapsed miserably.

His life had always been about falling down. Whenever he tried to hold even a little hope, someone would invariably knock him down. Kim In-woo had always gotten back up after falling. But this time, he wouldn’t be able to get up anymore.

Because the man was dead.

His blood-soaked upper body swayed precariously over the railing towards the ground below. In-woo didn’t hesitate. Just as his blood-stained body lost balance and began to fall…

Someone caught In-woo. And lightly placed him back in his original position.

“Hah…”

His heart pounded wildly after experiencing something close to falling, if only for a moment. In-woo felt disgusted with himself for feeling even a moment’s relief.

It would be better to just die, so why save me? In-woo glared at the one who had lifted him.

It was the android who often lingered around In-woo on Raseti’s orders. The android, who took the form of a middle-aged man, held In-woo with one hand and immediately opened the veranda door with a stern face.

“…”

After confirming the fallen Radel, the android immediately approached him. Still holding onto In-woo. It seemed to be monitoring in case In-woo tried to fall again. But In-woo had no intention of doing anything. His gaze persistently checked what the android was doing to the man.

Under the piercing stare, the android began treatment that In-woo couldn’t understand. The android’s wrist opened and an unpleasant-looking device emerged to probe the man’s body.

Not long after, the front door burst open on its own and a woman in elaborate dress entered. It was Raseti, their face deathly pale.

“Ra… Radel-nim.”

Reaching the living room and seeing the man, Raseti staggered. Unlike their usually confident attitude, Raseti now looked precarious as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Biting their lip firmly, instead of crumbling, Raseti glared at the man’s wounds.

“How is his condition?”

“Emergency treatment is complete. The spaceship is approaching. It will arrive soon. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

The moment the android finished saying 1 in its rigid voice, wind blew in through the wide-open large window.

And then an android popped out of thin air. It was a spaceship equipped with stealth capabilities. As part of the camouflage near the entrance dissolved, a medical android that emerged from the spaceship carefully placed Radel in a capsule and moved him inside.

In-woo silently watched the entire process. Rather than observing, his gaze just happened to be blankly fixed in that direction. He had too many thoughts to think anything at all. His mind was so full of everything that he couldn’t focus on any single thing.

Raseti was about to board the spaceship but turned to look at In-woo and approached.

“Are you coming?”

“Why should I go?”

Raseti flinched at the sharp voice. Though In-woo’s voice was very fierce, it trembled miserably at the end. Raseti met In-woo’s eyes with a calm face.

“I have to ask first. He is your lover after all.”

“Who…”

“And if you stabbed him, you might want to come confirm if he dies.”

“…”

“Also, if you want protection from Ezel, it’s better to board the spaceship. Even if you say no, we’ll drag you along anyway.”

As if understanding all of In-woo’s complex emotions, Raseti provided several excuses that would be good for In-woo to accept.

In-woo passed by Raseti with a pale face and entered the spaceship.

The inside of the spaceship was very complex and noisy. Though larger than it appeared, finding where the man was was easy. There was a room that androids were busily going in and out of.

Is disinfection not necessary to enter what seems to be an operating room…? After hesitating briefly, In-woo entered the room and no one stopped him.

The man was submerged in liquid inside a recovery capsule. The blood must have been washed away already as his face was clearly visible under the transparent water. His quietly closed eyes looked peaceful, free from all worldly troubles, and for a moment In-woo felt the urge to kill him.

Trying to run away like this? Without any explanation?

He wanted to strangle the man, wanted to destroy the androids examining him. At the same time, he wanted to beg. Please save the man. Lee Sun-ho…

“F*ck.”

Lee Sun-ho – what a ridiculous name. In-woo laughed emptily.

Radel can look into others’ minds. And ‘Lee Sun-ho’ was once someone Kim In-woo had great affection for.

Could it really be coincidence that they had the same name?

Of course not. In-woo laughed hollowly. He should have killed the man after all. Should have cut off his head and ended everything. If the man wouldn’t end, then rather…

“Kim In-woo-ssi.”

“…”

When he came to his senses, In-woo had moved close to Radel’s recovery capsule. In his hands was a chair, presumably for breaking the recovery capsule. His arms ached as if he had already struck it several times.

In-woo looked at Raseti, who alone remained composed amid the blaring warning alarms. Raseti had grown to almost twice In-woo’s size. All traces of their earlier confusion gone, Raseti gently took the chair from In-woo.

“It would be better to clean off the blood. Our blood is slightly toxic…”

“…”

When In-woo didn’t respond, Raseti arbitrarily opened a bottle of liquid and poured it over In-woo’s head. Before In-woo could be surprised by the sudden dousing, he was completely dry as if he had never been wet. The blood was of course washed away too.

“It was developed during the war.”

“…”

“Though the toxin should be washed away, you should still receive treatment.”

“…”

“Are you not going to speak?”

“You deceived me too.”

“I’m sorry.”

Raseti immediately bowed deeply in apology. As their enormous body bent, their crown became visible. “I’m truly sorry,” they said once more, keeping their head lowered for a long while. Their apologetic voice was neither playful nor excessively heavy.

“Is that all?”