Chapter 20
“Was it deleted from the main hard drive or the SSD?”
“I assumed it was obviously deleted, so I didn’t even check. Do you think you could try poking around the backup side?”
“Oh?”
Lee Seok-hyeong’s lips twisted upward.
“That’s actually my specialty. Sounds good. I’ll look into it. Can you make a secure connection?”
“Yeah. We can just set up a new one, right?”
“Wow. Must be nice to have money. You don’t even hesitate—just straight to ‘we’ll set it up.’ Happiness really is money, huh?”
“Honestly, money is everything.”
We looked at each other and grinned stupidly. It felt good—like reuniting with a childhood friend after a long time.
It sounded like something he would say, but somehow, I could tell he was trying to comfort me. And then—
Lee Seok-hyeong suddenly changed his expression.
“But then… what are you going to tell those people? If I come back again?”
“…Just say you don’t know, and that some pharmaceutical company guy came looking for me. Mix it up a bit, half and half like that…”
“Oh. So don’t mention that I’m your younger brother?”
“Yeah.”
At my answer, Lee Seok-hyeong tilted his head.
“…Will that really work? I mean, condolences aside, when your brother died, his face was all over the news.”
“……”
“They’ll definitely come looking. No, they already looked like they were determined to track you down somehow.”
Damn it. Everything was getting tangled up in the worst way. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
“I don’t know. Just… please do it that way for now.”
“Got it.”
Lee Seok-hyeong nodded reassuringly.
“Kyle-nim, it would be best if you woke up now.”
“….”
I was startled awake by the sound of Oliver deliberately opening the curtains. I’d briefly woken up when a nurse came by for a late-night checkup, but after that, I’d slept straight through.
I checked the time—it was already past eight in the morning.
“Good morning, Oliver.”
“Yes. Good morning. You may still be tired, but getting up now will help restore your sleep cycle.”
“Mmm.”
I flicked my finger to press the switch. With a soft mechanical sound, the bed mattress rose to about sixty degrees. As soon as my back left the mattress, Oliver smoothly draped a cardigan over my shoulders, as if it were second nature.
At the same time, a bedside table slid into place, and in front of me appeared a stack of documents and a warm cup of coffee in a red mug. Perfect setup. Oliver really was exceptional. I mentally raised his evaluation score yet again and brought the coffee to my lips.
“I’m still tired.”
“You overdid it. They told you to rest for about seven days, yet you came back in less than three. I was surprised—and even more so when you returned with Mr. Kang Inha.”
“I didn’t have a choice. There wasn’t enough time.”
Normally, I avoided morning coffee for the sake of my stomach. But right now, it felt like it brought me back to life. I answered and let out a sigh.
What happened two days ago was still vivid. Everything had been frantic. The moment Kang Inha and I reached land, I contacted Liam, and he came immediately at my call and took us all the way to the U.S. Clean, efficient, no complaints even when the situation changed. He was clearly a man with solid fundamentals.
The moment that left the strongest impression on me was this: as I looked around cautiously, Liam blinked and said, “No photos were taken. I was keeping an eye on it.”
I’d only entrusted him with transportation, yet he’d taken care to monitor the surroundings on his own. It left a deep impression. If I ever needed to use a PMC again, I thought I could safely entrust the job to Liam. Both brothers were solid. The power of genetics really was impressive—though I wasn’t sure if this was the right time to use that phrase.
“Oh, and I’ll continue with the report regarding Mr. Kang Inha.”
Oliver pulled out another file folder.
“We’ve arranged for Mr. Kang Inha to stay at a hotel near the hospital, and he’ll be stopping by today for a brief medical check. These are his visa and insurance documents. As instructed, we’ve also completed the rental for his residence, as well as a private vehicle.”
“Excellent. It might be a bit premature to say this, but when he starts working, I think it’d be good to set Mr. Kang Inha up as the PI team manager as well.”
“When should his start date be?”
“How about one or two months from now? For the rest, let’s proceed according to Allfail Pharmaceutical’s current relocation policy.”
I gave instructions as I scribbled my signature.
Kang Inha had been brought all the way from Argentina with great difficulty. Shouldn’t he be given time to adjust as well? He’d lived alone on a deserted island in Argentina for nearly two—almost three—years, fishing to survive. There was no way he’d adapt easily to city life; he’d need time to clash and rub against this noisy environment.
And above all, I couldn’t exactly make him start work immediately…
I was still in the hospital, after all.
As I continued reviewing the documents, I spoke again.
“Good work. What’s next?”
“The hospital brought up the possibility of discharge.”
“What?”
Oliver spoke carefully.
“The hospital says they’re restricting outside visitors, but as rumors slowly spread, even VIP patients seem to be a burden for them. They also appear to be aware of your frequent outings, Kyle-nim.”
That made sense. No matter how much I treated this hospital like a private villa, publicly it was still a place meant to treat and house sick patients. And this time, I’d even been away for three full days to go to Argentina.
Issues like this were exactly why I’d tried to come back as early as possible.
“Additionally, your test results came back very positive. Even if we tried to extend your stay, it seems you wouldn’t be able to remain here longer than about two weeks.”
“Two weeks… I see.”
“In fact, there are apartments owned by the Allfail family nearby, and plenty of hotels as well. If you wish, we could also look into acquiring a residence at the San Francisco base.”
Oliver was right.
But given the mysterious penalty I’d received, staying inside the hospital felt like the safest option.
I hesitated for a moment, then sighed.
For now… there was no helping it.
“All right. Let’s plan to stay only until the end of this week for now… and we’ll think more about owning property in the city.”
I couldn’t exactly explain the real reason. As I answered, I let out a heavy sigh, my expression dark. I could feel Oliver watching me carefully.
“Um… Kyle-nim.”
“Yes.”
“You suddenly look extremely unwell. Are you all right?”
“Ah, is it that obvious? I’m sorry.”
I sighed once more. Oliver tilted his head slightly.
“To be honest, I thought you’d be in a good mood. It’s practically a promotion, and you even personally brought back Mr. Kang Inha—someone you wanted.”
He was right.
Even without Oliver pointing it out, the quest had clearly been a success. I’d completed the quest of finding Kang Inha and turning him into an ally, and I’d done it well.
But…
“…Actually, I wanted to stay in the hospital longer.”
“What?”
Oliver blinked.
“Kyle-nim… do you really like the hospital that much?”
“That’s not it.”
There was a reason I couldn’t explain for why I kept sighing like this. It was the penalty tied to that very quest.
Honestly, it was utterly devastating.
I mean, what was the point of completing the quest?
The quest failure penalty was “-8 years,” and the penalty deducted for user confidentiality leakage also accumulated to a total of -8 years.
In other words, even though I’d worked myself to the bone to succeed at the quest, it was as if I’d failed anyway.
The real problem was that I still didn’t know what that “-8 years” actually meant. I clenched my lips and let out another sigh.
What on earth was -8 years?
Ah—whatever it was, it was definitely nothing good. That was the instinct I’d honed over years of walking a tightrope between countless criminals, crime scenes, and special operatives as a crime broker.
Suddenly, as if possessed, I muttered to myself.
“Don’t tell me… it’s dawn?”
Dawn. In other words—my remaining lifespan.
Surely it didn’t mean that -8 years was being subtracted from my remaining life… that my lifespan had been shortened by eight years. Surely not some insane nonsense like that.
It couldn’t be.
No matter how purpose-driven it was, the quest couldn’t possibly be that vicious.
It couldn’t.
I shook my head forcefully. That couldn’t be right. No, impossible. Of course not.
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. I just had a very bad thought just now.”
…It really isn’t, right?
