Extra 7:
“…”
The man didn’t even flinch, despite the sudden intrusion into his solitary confinement.
Or rather, he was too exhausted to react.
It had been weeks since Park Jung-soo had been imprisoned in this inescapable maze. He didn’t even know how much time had passed.
He hadn’t starved, thanks to the fruit-bearing vines, but that was all.
This gloomy, lightless prison was slowly eroding his sanity.
He looked at the beautiful monster with weary eyes.
The antlers crowning its head, the long, flowing brown hair, the iridescent skin, the fine silk robes, the inhuman green eyes…
Unlike him, filthy and degraded from his confinement, the monster radiated a vibrant, otherworldly light.
He had been terrified of its inhuman appearance at first, but he no longer felt any fear.
Even that had faded.
“Your reaction is… disappointing.”
The monster nudged his limp leg with its foot. His stiff, stick-like leg twitched.
It had become like this because he hadn’t moved for days, exhausted from his futile attempts to escape the maze.
He knew his body might start to decay, that he might die here.
But what did it matter? Perhaps it was for the best.
He wanted to die. Quickly.
“Do you want to die?”
The monster asked, as if reading his mind.
Park Jung-soo looked at him with a desperate plea in his eyes, a flicker of light returning to his dull gaze.
“P-please…”
His voice was raspy, unused.
“Kill me…”
He forced the words out, his throat dry.
The monster had imprisoned him here; it was the only one who could grant him his freedom, the freedom of death.
“Are you… suffering?”
“P-please…”
“Are you… in pain?”
“Pain…”
“But it’s only been a few days.”
The monster leaned closer, its long hair cascading down like a waterfall.
Its green eyes glowed in the dim light, like a predator’s.
“Gasp…!”
He had thought he was beyond fear, but the sight of those slitted pupils sent a shiver of terror down his spine.
Park Jung-soo recoiled, shrinking back into the corner, his movements as pathetic as a cornered rat.
The monster’s eyes narrowed.
“There are people who suffered for years because of your experiments, and you’re feeling pain after just a few days? You want to die?”
It scoffed.
“I wouldn’t be this… disgusted if you had at least fought back, if you had tried to kill me…”
“Uh… uh…”
“The more pathetic you become, the more… irritated I get.”
“N-no, no…”
Park Jung-soo, forgetting his previous fear, crawled towards the monster.
“P-please kill me… Don’t leave me here…!”
“You better start moving around before your body rots. Unless you want me to force you to walk for days.”
Park Jung-soo’s face paled at the monster’s threat.
He couldn’t even choose death.
If he tried to starve himself, the monster would force-feed him. If he tried to hang himself with vines, it would cut them down.
And if he refused to move, it would use the plants to force him to walk, until his feet blistered and bled, staining the earth crimson.
It was torture.
“Ah… ugh… I was wrong…”
“Yes. Repent your sins here, for the rest of your life. That’s your only purpose now.”
Before Park Jung-soo could grab his robes, the monster turned and walked away.
He couldn’t follow, his legs stiff and unresponsive.
“Ah… no… no…”
He collapsed, his body giving way, and watched helplessly as the monster disappeared into the thick fog.
“No! No, no, no…!”
Tears, which he thought had long since dried up, streamed down his face.
He was alone again, abandoned in this silent hell.
Park Jung-soo trembled, curled up on the ground, his hands covering his ears.
He wished he would be experimented on, tortured like he had tortured others. At least he wouldn’t be alone.
“…What did I do wrong…?”
He muttered to himself, tears and saliva dripping down his chin.
“I just… wanted to capture that bright light… It was so… brilliant… I wanted to hold it in my hands…!”
And hadn’t he made her light even brighter?
He had committed some… unpleasant acts in the process, but Espers were monsters, not humans.
They wouldn’t die from a few experiments; what was the big deal?
He had only wanted to make her stronger, to possess her in return. This punishment was unfair.
He hadn’t committed any heinous crimes, not enough to deserve being abandoned in this hell!
“It wasn’t… just my fault…!”
Park Jung-soo yelled, his voice hoarse.
As if hoping the monster would hear him.
But the maze remained silent, only the rustling of leaves and the whisper of the wind answering his cries.
He strained his ears, but he couldn’t sense the monster’s presence.
Park Jung-soo finally closed his eyes and shut his mouth, resigning himself to his fate.
And after a long moment, his face devoid of all emotion, he slowly stood up and began walking through the maze.
Praying for this torment to end.
“Trash.”
Baek Joo-won, emerging from the maze, sneered, a cold smile playing on his lips.
He had heard Park Jung-soo’s cries, his self-pitying complaints. They were pathetic.
He had probably said those things hoping to provoke him, to goad him into killing him, but they were also… true.
His true feelings.
Baek Joo-won had endured, despite his anger. Seo Jae-yi didn’t want him dead… yet.
He wanted to tear him apart, to erase him from existence, but Park Jung-soo’s fate was Seo Jae-yi’s to decide.
He wouldn’t act until she gave the order.
“But he does seem… lonely, all alone.”
Airok, fluttering beside him, said.
He had been monitoring Park Jung-soo while Baek Joo-won was with Seo Jae-yi.
“So I’m thinking of adding… more company.”
Like Jang Woo-seok, Park Hyung-woo, and Kim Joon-pil.
He specifically named those three. There were others, of course, but he particularly wanted to imprison and torment those three.
“You’re right. I should have kept one of them.”
He couldn’t keep Jang Woo-seok or Kim Joon-pil; they had to be put on trial to completely dismantle their party.
He should have kept Park Hyung-woo. It was a shame.
“It’ll be too late after they’re released from prison. Do you think he’ll even last that long?”
Park Jung-soo’s sanity was deteriorating rapidly. He was being kept alive artificially, but he might not last a year at this rate.
The thought of this pathetic, insignificant creature tormenting Seo Jae-yi for so long enraged him.
“I have to keep him alive until his… friends arrive.”
Seo Jae-yi had suffered for years; Park Jung-soo couldn’t just die after a mere year of suffering.
That was unacceptable. He had to keep him alive for at least eleven years.
“Even if I have to use my power.”
Baek Joo-won’s regenerative ability.
Airok’s face brightened at his willingness to use such a precious ability, even on Park Jung-soo.
“Then he’ll live! I can’t wait. A mere decade or so is nothing to us, and yet, it feels like an eternity.”
“…Indeed.”
Baek Joo-won stopped, his steps faltering at Airok’s words.
A mere decade…
Airok was right. A decade was but a blink of an eye to them.
And a human’s lifespan was even shorter. A century wasn’t quite a blink, but it was still… short.
But it must feel like a lifetime to a human.
Baek Joo-won’s gaze shifted towards the cave where Seo Jae-yi was.
She would be awake now, enjoying a hot bath in the hot spring, her body covered in the marks he had left on her.
“…”
He sighed, imagining her flushed face.
“What’s wrong?”
Airok looked at him curiously.
“I was just thinking about… the brevity of a human life.”
“…Ah.”
Airok’s expression turned somber, as if he understood. His gaze also shifted towards the cave.
“…Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. That’s the problem.”
He sighed and continued walking.
There was no point in agonizing over it alone.
He shook his head and headed towards Seo Jae-yi, who would be waiting for him.
It seemed he would have to have an… unpleasant conversation with her soon.
Time passed quickly after the impeachment of former President Kim Joon-pil.
He had returned to his private residence after leaving the Blue House, but he wouldn’t be enjoying a peaceful retirement.
An arrest warrant had been issued the moment he left, and he was imprisoned shortly after. All that awaited him were countless trials.
But at least he wasn’t alone. Jang Woo-seok, his accomplice, would be with him every step of the way.
‘Serves them right.’
The first trial finally began.
Seo Jae-yi, dressed impeccably, was there, watching their downfall from the witness stand.
Seeing them fall from grace together… it was quite entertaining.
If she were at home, she would have been watching the trial with a beer in hand.