Boy Monster Chapter 31

Shi Taehyun put the chainsaw into his bag and quickly stood up.

“Let’s go.”

Inside the elevator, the two avoided eye contact and remained silent. Unlike Jae Eunho, who was worried about what would happen next, Shi Taehyun seemed to have no thoughts at all; glancing sideways, he was reading a chainsaw rental flyer he had taken out of his pocket.

He wondered what reason the guy could have for coming here after all the trouble of escaping. He could guess that there wasn’t time to wait for Jae Eunho to be released from his confinement. In any case, if he had waited a few days, Deputy Chief Oh Jigeun would have opened the lock with a sophisticated device, even if it meant mobilizing Ji Hwelju without authorization. What was Shi Taehyun in such a hurry for?

“Do you think I’m the only one who can open that door? A pretty boy, all alone in a sky-high apartment, unable to even use his sensory abilities. It makes you a perfect target.”

He was saying that he came early because he was afraid the mysterious kidnapping faction would beat him to it. But the important thing was that Shi Taehyun was not a trustworthy guy either.

‘I need to watch for a chance to shake this guy off and go to the NIS headquarters.’

Jae Eunho asked, his eyes fixed on the descending floor numbers of the elevator.

“How did you know I was trapped here.”

“Your younger lover was hospitalized, teacher. I secretly visited him and eavesdropped on his phone call. I’m pretty good at disguises, you know.”

“I told you he’s not my lover. Hyeon Jaewoong is hospitalized? Why?”

“Acute anemia.”

Anemia, for a guy who was nothing if not for his health and stamina? He couldn’t help but have questions. Unless Sa Hwelju had dried up his blood or something….

When that thought occurred to him, Jae Eunho looked up to his side. The moment his eyes met Shi Taehyun’s, who wore an enigmatic smile, the elevator stopped.

Arriving at the 1st floor, the elevator doors opened. He was nervous that surveillance agents might be waiting, but fortunately, there was no one. The two quickly hid among the gardens within the complex. Just as Jae Eunho was about to take the lead to guide the way, Shi Taehyun stopped him.

“Hop on.”

Shi Taehyun abruptly offered his back and hoisted Jae Eunho up. As he ran with him on his back, his speed was astonishingly fast. Through his shaking vision, he saw the bag with the chainsaw had been left far behind.

By the time they hid among the forest trails created within the complex, agents who seemed to have been sent by Lim Geonhwi and a police SWAT team began to appear. Lim Geonhwi must have checked the front door CCTV and ordered a search of the complex.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time before they were caught if he kept running with Jae Eunho on his back. The SWAT team had tasers. The current situation with his abilities under control was frustrating and unnerving.

When Jae Eunho sensed the presence of an agent approaching nearby, Shi Taehyun stopped.

“Stay here for a moment.”

Shi Taehyun set Jae Eunho down and disappeared in the direction the sound came from. A dull thud of something hitting a head echoed once, and the bushes fell silent. Shi Taehyun, who appeared dragging an unconscious agent, tossed a taser to Jae Eunho. The deep brim of his cap pointed to Eunho’s side.

Just then, a police officer was approaching. Jae Eunho quickly aimed the taser and brought the man down. Shi Taehyun slung both men, including the one who had just fallen, over his shoulders and ran to the wall.

Weeing— A loud warning sound that Shi Taehyun deliberately made spread around the wall. The search agents all ran towards the wall at once. Shi Taehyun, who had run hunched over through the bushes, offered his back again.

“Hop on, again.”

“That’s ok….”

Shi Taehyun forcibly put Jae Eunho on his back and leisurely passed through the main gate. Shi Taehyun, who put Eunho in a waiting electric company car, sat in the driver’s seat.

“We’ll get off at Apgujeong. Let’s go somewhere to rest and shake them off completely.”

The small car wound through the buildings and headed for the streets of Apgujeong. As the car’s speed slowed due to heavy pedestrian traffic, Shi Taehyun stopped the car as if temporarily parking at a suitable location and opened the back seat door.

“Where do you want to go?”

Jae Eunho went behind a convenience store building and pointed to one of the tightly packed buildings. He had chosen an area without police-managed CCTV. The two, with arms chummily around each other’s shoulders, entered a building with an AR escape room cafe and a billiard hall. Before entering the entrance, Jae Eunho, who had checked the surroundings, spotted a suit frantically moving through the crowd.

“I think one person is following us.”

“Really? Wait a minute in a cool place.”

After taking the elevator to the 5th floor, Shi Taehyun pushed Eunho into the AR escape room cafe.

Before closing the door, Jae Eunho saw the guy fumbling with a hammer inside his work vest. Seeing him run up the stairs, his intention was to go to the rooftop, cross to another building, and break a window to disrupt the chase.

Jae Eunho, while filling out a consent form at the counter, listened intently to the situation outside. The music was too loud, so he couldn’t hear the sound of the glass shattering. Now would be the time to escape… would it be okay…. Eunho wandered around the cafe, looking for an emergency exit.

Unfortunately, Shi Taehyun finished his work before Jae Eunho could locate an escape route. Shi Taehyun, flinging the door open, walked to the counter.

“Did you pick a room?”

“I don’t have money. You pay.”

“Oppa was going to pay anyway.”

“……”

Shi Taehyun, pulling out five ten-thousand-won bills from his pocket, paid for the escape room and boasted. Cash is an essential item for a fugitive. Just what the hell does this guy, who is well-versed in all sorts of criminal activities, do!

Shi Taehyun opened the room door with a gesture of feigned courtesy. As soon as he stepped inside, Jae Eunho lunged at Shi Taehyun.

The hat the guy was wearing was knocked off by the shock of being roughly grabbed by the collar.

“Why did you escape? Why did you get me out of confinement? Give me evidence to refute my guess that you’re in league with the kidnappers!”

“Ooh… oww…!”

Shi Taehyun, pretending to be pushed back by Eunho’s strength, stumbled and fell right onto the sofa. Jae Eunho fell with him. He ended up on top of the guy who had fallen and was lying down. It was unpleasant, but he couldn’t let go of his collar.

“Our teacher is feisty today…! Let’s do it here, I don’t mind.”

Shi Taehyun said, thrusting his lower body. Just then, the escape room theme started and the lights turned on. A recorded voice flowed out.

‘You have been kidnapped by a giant criminal organization! Now you must escape this underground prison!’

With the coincidental announcement as background music, Jae Eunho and Shi Taehyun were entangled, lying down and struggling. Jae Eunho, letting out a rough breath, gripped Shi Taehyun’s collar even tighter. Shi Taehyun, with a flushed face and a grin, pulled a document from his work vest pocket.

“The powder a drug organization executive requested an investigation on. The research results.”

Jae Eunho looked at the paper and slowly let go of the guy’s collar. It was the identity of the powder that the mysterious kidnapping faction had spread through illegal distribution channels.

Jae Eunho, without even thinking of getting off Shi Taehyun’s body, took the document. Eunho’s two eyes behind his glasses busily scanned the paper. He couldn’t get a clear idea just by looking at the technical terms and chemical symbols written in English. Eunho flipped the document to the last page.

“That researcher was also murdered, so it took longer than I thought to find it. On top of that, I couldn’t contact you, teacher, so I couldn’t sleep for two whole days looking for you.”

At the end of the sheet analyzing the chemical components of the powder, the investigator’s opinion was summarized in one line. Unreported chemical compound. A toxic substance that causes acute poisoning. Water-soluble. When heated, it vaporizes and combines with carbon dioxide, causing a toxic chemical reaction. Investigation is needed on how it affects the human body upon ingestion.

It’s biochemical terrorism. There is no other possibility. They spread a toxic substance in Seoul. It would be their final threat to pull out if things went wrong. Jae Eunho covered his mouth and let out a curse.

Shi Taehyun was oblivious to the shocking results. The guy, who had trapped Jae Eunho’s hips between his knees and snatched his wrist, licked his lips.

“Is my reward you shaking your hips for me…? Cowgirl is the best, right?”

“Let go! This needs to go to the NIS right now….”

“But teacher.”

Shi Taehyun raised his upper body. His face drew closer. A low voice rumbled from the guy who held Eunho’s wrist firmly.

“Why did Chairman Lim Geonhwi lock you in there and lock the door from the outside? That’s such a thrilling thing to do.”

Suddenly, he became anxious that the mark from being hit by Lim Geonhwi yesterday would be discovered. Fortunately, the wound was in a place that couldn’t be seen unless he took off his clothes. Eunho answered confidently.

“I’m originally under house arrest. And right now is a national danger and a state of emergency, isn’t it.”

“Are you sleeping with that Army Chief of Staff?”

Jae Eunho held the document and looked at Shi Taehyun pathetically. Shi Taehyun smiled slyly and said.

“Good for him that it’s a no, he saved his life today.”

“……”

“I was thinking about it for a bit after seeing you cry, teacher. Whether or not to get in his car for his commute.”

:･⚜️⊹.️

Under the scorching sun, the market in Nepal was bustling with people despite the heatwave. Two middle-aged men and one woman, dressed in professional hiking gear, with sun-blocking shawls and sunglasses, stopped under an awning. One man lowered his sunglasses, revealing intelligent blue-gray eyes.

“Why does Jae Eunho keep meeting a suspect named Shi Taehyun?”

“Who knows why. Maybe they fell for each other through prison bars. Tailing was impossible because he was placed under house arrest, and then he ran away with Shi Taehyun again, so there was no chance to do anything.”

Scientist Oni was anxious that Doctor Aztec might lose control of his emotions again and destroy the marketplace. He might have really done so if the tailing had failed or been discovered. Fortunately, Doctor Aztec was in a stable state.

“I thought we only had to deal with Lim Geonhwi, but is he getting involved with a brutal gangster too? Seriously. Does that Sa Yeonri have some kind of special hormone? Does everyone get a hard-on and rush to connect with him?”

“It seems the hormone doesn’t only work on Sa Hwelju.”

“I wonder if it would work on me too?”

Hacker Jekyll joked.