“Hey. Wake up…… Hey, Jeong Taei.”

He heard a voice beside him, calm yet loud.

‘A voice that’s both ‘calm’ and ‘loud’—how strange……’ – Jeong Taeui thought in his drowsy state as he opened his eyes.

In his blurry vision, a familiar face came into view. To be precise, it was a profile.

That perfectly sculpted side profile was calling Jeong Taeui’s name with a nonchalant expression and unaware that he had already woken up.

‘Indeed, if it’s him, even in an urgent situation that requires shouting, he could still maintain such a carefree face.’ – Jeong Taeui thought, then closed his eyes again. Suddenly, he felt incredibly sleepy. His eyelids felt as if they were weighed down by lead, and the drowsiness overwhelmed him, making it impossible to resist.

‘But why is he shouting? He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry…… Ah, it must be because it’s so noisy around here. Speaking in a normal voice wouldn’t be heard with all this noise. But why is it so noisy……’

“Taei, wake up.”

Once again, that calm voice struck the eardrums of Jeong Taeui, who was about to drift back to sleep. Jeong Taeui was forced to open his eyes again.

“Do you know how to fly a helicopter?”

“Huh? HELICOPTER……?!”

As Jeong Taeui was groggily opening his eyes, Christoph asked him. Jeong Taeui frowned in surprise at the sudden question.

“If it’s an LCH* model, I could probably handle it roughly, but why are you asking all of a sudden……”

(*LCH: Light Combat Helicopter which is an attack helicopter developed for various combat and reconnaissance roles.)

Jeong Taeui, while trying to force his heavy eyelids open, rubbed his eyes with his hand and lifted his head, hearing Christoph mumble: “Really? That’s good.” Only then did Jeong Taeui fully wake up as those murmured words registered.

And exactly three seconds later, the drowsiness vanished as if doused with cold water.

“I had to hit him because he kept muttering nonsense and stalling, and then he passed out. I switched it to auto mode, but I don’t know how to stop a helicopter in mid-air, so it’s just been circling around near here.”

Those casual words didn’t even fully register. Before anything else, what hit Jeong Taeui’s consciousness was the scene before his eyes:

The night view of the bustling city dozens of meters below. The helicopter was flying over the sky, leaving the busy area and moving towards a quiet residential neighborhood. And in the middle of that high sky, Jeong Taeui was floating.

He had passed out, and when he woke up, he was in the middle of the sky.

Jeong Taeui blinked and looked around in confusion. It was dark outside, so he couldn’t see clearly. But at least he knew he was in a helicopter flying through the sky.

“Wait, why am I here……?”

“Or do you know a place where we can land?”

Christoph had no intention of answering Jeong Taeui’s question and simply said what he wanted to say: “How would I know……” While Christoph mumbled, Taeui continued to look outside, searching for a spot where the helicopter could land. Before long, he tilted his head slightly.

The residential area with its dim and faint lights was difficult to recognize from such a height at night…… yet it looked very familiar to him, even though he had never seen it from above like this at night.

Even just that small park down there felt very familiar. As he looked closely at the park in the darkness, Jeong Taeui felt as if he had taken many walks there. He glanced around and then turned to Christoph.

“Is this Berlin?”

“You lived here for years, and you can’t recognize it? That’s cold.”

“It’s dark here, and this is the first time I’m seeing it from this height, plus I just woke up. If I recognized it right away, that would be strange!”

Only after Jeong Taeui squinted and snapped at Christoph, who was accusing him of being cold, did he fully regain his senses.

His head throbbed. The effects of the drug hadn’t completely worn off, making his vision blur as if distorted by a convex lens.

His memories slowly began to return. Those memories surfaced, feeling almost surreal like a dream. But if he connected them to reality – flying over Berlin in a helicopter – there was no doubt that it had happened.

“Where’s Ilay?”

That was the first memory that surfaced.

The terrifying image that even Jeong Taeui found chilling.

The expressionless face, the eyes slightly out of focus, staring into space, then suddenly rushing forward and snapping the necks of several people in an instant, before heading straight for his target. As Jeong Taeui recalled that scene, a cold shiver ran down his spine. At the time, it was as if his mind had been paralyzed, feeling nothing.

Because he had lived a life so peaceful that he had forgotten about it.

That was the true nature of the man named Ilay Riegrow. A person who could smile slowly in complete clarity and then rip someone’s head apart.

And yet, he had collapsed. Jeong Taeui could still feel the sensation of bearing Ilay’s weight on his shoulder.

“Where’s Ilay?”

Jeong Taeui asked again, looking at Christoph.

“Don’t you remember?”

But Christoph responded with a question, looking surprised.

The memories…… had returned.

Just before losing consciousness, Jeong Taeui had handed Ilay over to Christoph. Or rather, Christoph had taken him, but in that situation, Christoph was the only one Jeong Taeui could trust.

If it had been anyone else, he would never have let Ilay be taken away.

……How could he have done that when he couldn’t even control himself?

He didn’t know anything like that. But no matter what, he wouldn’t let Ilay go.

Yet Christoph ultimately proved untrustworthy – at least when it came to matters involving Ilay.

“So, you left him there……”

Jeong Taeui sighed.

Of course, it would have been impossible to bring Ilay along in that situation. He didn’t know what had happened after he lost consciousness, but the fact that Christoph had managed to get him out of there was surprising in itself.

However, leaving an unconscious man surrounded by enemies and Richard – the one who had betrayed Ilay – was highly questionable.

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about Rick.”

Christoph said absentmindedly, looking outside for a suitable landing spot. Jeong Taeui rested his chin in thought, then sighed and shrugged.

“We can’t go back to Tarten, can we?”

“If you really intend to, I’ll put you to sleep again.”

Jeong Taeui nodded.

In truth, no matter how he thought about it, Ilay Riegrow wasn’t someone to worry about. If anything, it was the people left behind with him who were more concerning.

Yes, in reality, worrying about a monster who can overturn an entire banquet hall after being injected with a significant amount of drugs – where Taeui is a completely normal person, passed out within minutes – and yet having the audacity to collapse and remain unconscious is something to be laughed at.

“Well, he might show up in Berlin by tomorrow morning, completely normal.”

Jeong Taeui muttered, but Christoph firmly shook his head.

“Normal? Just be glad if he doesn’t show up covered in blood. But then again, being covered in someone else’s blood might be considered normal for him, right?”

Jeong Taeui thought that: If Christoph, who had worked with Ilay, was so certain of his inhuman nature, he must understand Ilay better than he did. But even imagining Ilay covered in blood made Jeong Taeui uncomfortable.

‘Even his former colleagues have unwavering faith in his inhumanity, and yet here I am worrying—maybe I’m still not used to him.’ – Thinking this, Jeong Taeui pointed to the park below, where the helicopter had just flown over.

“If we have to choose a landing spot, that park is probably the best option, though it’s not very big, so I’m not sure. But we could give it a try.”

Jeong Taeui leaned forward in the seat and reached for the controls from the back seat. He turned the helicopter in a wide arc towards the park they had just flown over and looked down at the scene below through the tilted window.

“A park…… Kyle’s house is nearby, right?”

Christoph looked down, seemingly pondering something. He rubbed his chin, then suddenly looked up and asked.

“How long does it take to walk?”

“3 minutes. If you run, you can get there in less than a minute.”

The park where Jeong Taeui often took walks early in the morning or late in the afternoon was very close to his house. Even though it was so small that it felt like walking around his front and back yards, he would occasionally go out to breathe the fresh air outside the fence.

“3 minutes……” – Christoph mumbled, then suddenly gave Jeong Taeui a meaningful look.

“A wanted criminal on the run, strolling around the neighborhood instead of hiding?”

“……I can’t really argue with that, but hearing it from you makes it harder to accept……”

When comparing his actions with Christoph’s past behavior, it was clear that Christoph was the one who acted more like a wanted criminal.

Feeling the injustice of it all, Jeong Taeui lowered the helicopter’s altitude. He tried to gauge the terrain based on the sparse streetlights and the size of the dark open spaces as the helicopter descended further. The lower they went, the easier it became to recognize the area below. Now, he could start to distinguish specific locations.

“But are you okay with this?”

As Christoph signaled for him to lower the altitude further, Jeong Taeui suddenly asked. Christoph, who was signaling for him to descend a bit more, turned to him with a questioning look.

“Are you really okay with leaving Tarten like this?”

Jeong Taeui deliberately kept his gaze outside, speaking in a calm tone. But he couldn’t stop his voice from dropping slightly.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened after he lost consciousness and how they ended up here, but recalling the last memories and the atmosphere at that time, it didn’t seem like they had left in a good situation.

Given the blood splatters on the control panel and windshield, Jeong Taeui could imagine the state of the place they had left behind.

Christoph didn’t respond. Perhaps he didn’t hear.

In the helicopter, where one had to speak louder than usual to be heard, it was possible that Jeong Taeui had spoken too softly. But he had no intention of repeating the question, so he remained silent.

Meanwhile, the helicopter was approaching the dark park below.

“How does it look? Can you land?”

“Not sure…… Lower it a bit more. The streetlights are too dim.”

The helicopter’s altitude was now low enough that the buildings below were clearly visible. Fortunately, this was a residential area; if it had been a bustling area with tall buildings, flying at this altitude wouldn’t have been possible.

As they descended to a point where they couldn’t go much lower, the park slowly came into view under the dim streetlights.

“……Oh…… It’s not going to work.”

Jeong Taeui looked down through the window and muttered.

He had thought that the small open space in the middle of the park might be enough to land a helicopter, but now it didn’t seem safe to do so.

In just a few weeks since he last visited, the park had been turned into a construction site.

It was only a small site, and it seemed they were renovating the fountain, but there were piles of wood and bricks all around. The strong wind from the helicopter’s rotors could easily scatter everything.

Jeong Taeui slightly increased the altitude again. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to Christoph and said: “Oh, right!”

“There’s a school across the main road over there. It’s not very big, but the schoolyard should be wide enough to land a helicopter, no matter the size.”

“No way!”

As soon as Jeong Taeui finished speaking, Christoph firmly rejected the idea.

“Too far.”

“It’s farther than the park, yes, but it’s only a few minutes’ walk.”

“No, still not an option. Actually, even this park is too far.”

Christoph shook his head. Jeong Taeui remained silent for a moment, then suddenly understood the issue.

From the landing spot to the house.

The distance was only a few minutes on foot, but if they had to fight their way through guards ahead, it would be a long and difficult journey.

Jeong Taeui stretched out and leaned back in his seat, letting out a long sigh.

In any case, their position had already been exposed. It didn’t take much thought to know where they would go while hovering in the air like this.

“Really, this means we’re going to cause trouble for Kyle once again……”

Jeong Taeui muttered bitterly and scratched his head.

In this situation, one crucial thing had to be considered.

They had to minimize the risks as much as possible so that the escape wouldn’t be in vain. In other words, they needed to shorten the distance from the landing spot to the destination as much as possible.

And with that park being the closest possible landing spot – even though they couldn’t land there – their options were extremely limited.

**************

It took quite some time to wake up the unconscious pilot. Christoph must have roughed him up pretty badly.

Despite Jeong Taeui shaking him hard and slapping his face, the pilot showed no signs of waking up. It wasn’t until Christoph coldly said: “Hit him harder; he’ll wake up.” and started rolling up his sleeves that the pilot instinctively sensed the danger to his life, groaning softly and finally moving his eyelids.

It was unclear whether the pilot realized he had just been saved, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he grabbed the controls with a terrified expression, while Christoph still had a gun pointed at the back of his neck.

Finally, they reached the sky above the target location: over Kyle’s house.

Jeong Taeui put on his protective goggles as he looked down at the familiar house where he had lived for many years, from a completely new angle. As soon as the helicopter door opened, the wind from outside rushed in, making it difficult to keep his eyes open.

Standing beside Jeong Taeui, Christoph only squinted slightly without needing protective goggles. He looked down for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. Give me the parachute. There must be one, right?”

Christoph held out his hand with confidence, as if requesting something he was certain had been prepared. The pilot, with a confused expression, shook his head while trembling.

“Uh, no…… there isn’t……”

“There’s no way! There’s no helicopter in the world without a parachute. Stop playing games and give it to me now.”

Christoph’s frustration was evident as he waved his hand in front of the pilot’s face.

“There really isn’t—”

Before the pilot could finish, Christoph slapped him hard across the face. Fortunately, this time he only used his hand, so the pilot didn’t pass out, but he clutched his head in pain and unsure of what to do.

‘What crime did that pilot commit?’ – Jeong Taeui thought to himself, feeling pity for the unlucky man as he frantically rummaged under the back seat.

“A helicopter is a helicopter, no matter what. If there’s a place to store a parachute, then…… Ah, found it.”

Jeong Taeui quickly pulled out a large package without having to search much.

Instead of being relieved upon finding the parachute, which seemed unused for a long time and was covered in dust, Christoph glared fiercely at the pilot, then immediately leaned back to search further in the space behind the back seat. After a long while, bending down to check under the seat and even the compartments attached to the ceiling of the helicopter – where it was clearly impossible to store such a large package – he finally stopped.

His gloomy eyes turned towards the pilot.

“Why is there only one?”

“Because…… because this type of aircraft is originally designed for emergency missions, so……”

The pilot stammered an excuse, and Christoph was about to burst into a rage, but fortunately, Jeong Taeui intervened in time.

“There’s only one, so we’ll have to make do with this.”

After pacifying Christoph, Taeui began inspecting the parachute, and he couldn’t help but sigh when he saw the inscription on the cover.

“It’s a lightweight parachute. The load capacity is only 80 kg…… Even if we push it, it can only handle about 90 or, at most, 100 kg…… But I alone weigh 70 kg…… Do you weigh less than 30 kg?”

In response, a punch flew towards him. Taeui slightly tilted his head to avoid the punch, then mumbled with a pensive expression: “Hmm……”

“Isn’t it a bit too risky with just this one parachute, especially with two people jumping?”

“But we have to try. It’ll be fine. I knew some people – more accurately, three people – who jumped together with a parachute rated for 120 kg.”

Christoph muttered while checking the parachute hooks. It seemed he was determined to jump with Jeong Taeui using just this one parachute.

“Three people with a 120 kg parachute? And they were okay?”

As Jeong Taeui was contemplating whether two people could manage with a parachute rated for 80 kg, he received a nonchalant response.

“The cords didn’t snap mid-air. One person ended up in the hospital for four months, while the other two stayed for half a year…… OK. All checks are complete. Let’s jump.”

“WAIT…… Are you seriously planning to jump right after telling me that? You…………”

Taeui hurriedly grabbed Christoph’s sleeve. Christoph, who was fastening the safety harness on one of Taeui’s shoulders, glanced at the sleeve being held, then quietly looked at him.

“Do you have another option?”

“……Lower the altitude as much as possible and jump into the forest…… We might only sustain minor injuries……”

Following Jeong Taeui’s suggestion, the helicopter descended a bit further. At this altitude, it was said that one could jump and survive.

Each of them fastened the parachute to one shoulder, secured the safety harness, and then leapt from a height that would terrify any human.

At this height, it was too high to jump without a parachute, but too low to deploy one. So, as soon as they jumped out of the helicopter, they almost simultaneously deployed the parachute.

*Rip* – It seemed there was a tearing sound from the parachute flapping overhead, caused by the tree branches. His heart felt suffocated in that brief moment of free fall, but as soon as his body was caught by the parachute cords, his heart eased a little.

Perhaps this parachute was made with particular care.

Although it was marked to handle only 80 kg, contrary to their concerns, it didn’t tear or snap immediately under nearly double that weight. However, their descent speed was still worrisome.

“Fortunately, it’s holding up.”

Jeong Taeui murmured to Christoph, who was right beside him, as they fell slower than free fall, yet much faster than a normal parachute descent.

“Yeah. I hope it holds until the end. But at this speed, even if the cords snap now, we won’t die. We might just break a few bones.”

Christoph calmly muttered those frightening words as he adjusted the parachute’s direction to land in the courtyard.