Chapter 253

Siron turned around. His face was pale, bloodless, as if all the blood had drained away. Frightened, he asked.

“Are you saying Isaac might be dead?”

He turned his whole body toward Baekgyeong and asked, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“How do you know?”

Watching the shock plain on Siron’s face, Baekgyeong was seized by a strange feeling. It was the vacant reaction one could believe even if told a family member had died.

He took the earpiece he had been wearing out of his ear and answered.

“There was a shootout. After a few gunshots, Isaac’s voice didn’t come through.”

“Do you think he was shot?”

“I don’t know. It seemed like Isaac threw away the radio. Maybe my voice got on his nerves.”

In the suddenly reversed situation, with Siron’s line cut off, Baekgyeong kept calling Yoon Siron’s name to find his whereabouts. To Isaac, in a gunfight, it would have been a cry that was no help at all.

“Why did your contact suddenly cut off?”

At Baekgyeong’s question, Siron let out a short sigh.

“A man grabbed me in the banquet hall, and he smashed it.”

Siron knit his brows, as if groping for memory.

“He looked like the governor’s son. His hair was light brown, and his face...”

“Pale like a corpse, right.”

Warden Malcolm cut in with a nervous voice. Siron, turning from Baekgyeong to the warden, gave an awkward nod.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Dylan Brown. ...So he was an alpha too.”

Malcolm seemed to forget he was holding the wheel and went blank. As the speed slowly dropped, the car behind them honked and, narrowly changing lanes, overtook them. Startled, Malcolm wobbled the wheel left and right, then barely kept the lane steady.

“Focus on driving. We’ve got plenty of time to talk. And I’d rather you followed the navigation, too.”

Malcolm frowned but obediently followed the navigation’s guidance, slowing as he entered the ramp. The destination, according to Baekgyeong’s spur-of-the-moment plan, was Somora Prison.

Malcolm’s car was equipped with the latest navigation system. The palm-sized color touchscreen not only displayed real-time traffic data based on phone apps but also updated the travel time instantly. The interior was spacious, befitting a large SUV, and the dashboard was a modern mix of analog and digital. Plastic wrapping still clung to parts of the interior.

Siron realized something and asked.

“Is this car new?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. That’s why it had temporary plates.”

Both vehicles were the same model, both black, only the model year differed. The temporary plates on a new car didn’t look that different from those on a used car, so Siron had mistaken Malcolm’s SUV for Baekgyeong’s.

“Why did you arrive so late to the charity event?”

“Since I was off the island, I took Bambi in for a full checkup, got the windows tinted... I had a lot to do. I didn’t think it would take so long.”

Siron looked at the tinted window permit sticker. Like the governor, Malcolm had darkened his windows, befitting someone in a position vulnerable to crime. Siron lowered his gaze to his lap, where warmth radiated from a tiny puppy curled up asleep. Its name, apparently, was Bambi.

“The dog’s name is Bambi? Is she sick?”

“She’s always had a weak heart. We’ll know more once the blood test results come back.”

Malcolm, who had been grumbling, paused for breath, then added with a voice full of affection.

“She’s fifteen. Older than she looks.”

“My god, she looks young for her age.”

Siron carefully stroked the little dog’s back as she slept on his lap.

“Bambi, you’re fifteen? You’ll be off to college soon. At least go for a PhD, hm?”

“Heh. That would be nice.”

Malcolm found Siron’s flattery ridiculous, but not unpleasant. Talking about his dog softened him, and he revealed a complaint he had been holding in.

“When we left the parking lot just now, the barrier pole definitely scraped my car.”

“Send me the bill. I’ll pay it, of course.”

“More than that—could you put the gun away? It makes me nervous.”

“Don’t even dream of it.”

Just when the mood had lightened, Baekgyeong broke it.

“Don’t you see? I limp, I’m old, I’ve got no strength.”

“Promise you’ll take me to Gezar Bazelli. Then I’ll give you enough money to live comfortably until you die of old age.”

“I can’t. Whatever you want, there’s nothing I can do.”

Feigning ignorance yet seeming to know everything, Malcolm wrinkled his nose.

After that, no matter Baekgyeong’s questions and provocations, Malcolm showed no further reaction. He stayed silent about Gezar Bazelli, about the memoir, about whether Tessa Spencer had interviewed him. As if waiting to see more, he silently followed the navigation.

They had entered the highway, leaving Coburn Hill, on the southern edge of Baggers City. Siron looked out at the Elm Hotel, landmark of the Coburn Hill district, shrinking like a matchbox across the road.

Isaac.

Once again, Isaac’s fate was unknown. Siron thought Isaac might be waiting at their temporary lodging, but having finally reached the warden, he couldn’t give up this chance to meet Gezar. Only five days remained until Gezar’s scheduled execution.

He’ll have gotten out safe. I won’t worry.

Siron did not allow himself to think of Isaac’s death. Even knowing Isaac’s lifespan was nearing its end, even believing he would one day form an Imprint with Baekgyeong, Siron carried an unshakable conviction that Isaac would survive, as if immortal.

---

Anna dropped the box of microwaved frozen pizza onto the table and pressed the TV remote. It had been long since she’d grown used to turning on the news as soon as she came home and leaving it on until she fell asleep. It was a habit formed after Lewis disappeared. She hoped for any news that might be of use regarding the disappearance of Lewis, Baekgyeong, and Siron.

But the broadcast tonight was news she had never imagined.

[...Five days since the Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of the appeal. The ruling goes beyond precedent, and is being seen as a turning point in the nationwide spread of same-sex marriage in the United States. What changes have taken place in this state?]

“Mmm?”

Chewing noisily on a mouthful of pizza, cheese stretching, Anna turned up the volume. The studio shot shifted to a reporter standing in front of a government building.

[A same-sex couple in Salt Lake City, Utah, waited seven years to marry. This Wednesday, they exchanged vows in front of City Hall. With the social mood welcoming same-sex couples, thousands of marriage licenses have already been issued, and some states are reorganizing their administrative procedures for same-sex marriages.

But some worry that the change is too fast. Certain officials, citing religious convictions....]

“The world’s changed a lot. Hm. A bit salty, though.”

Anna watched with dry eyes the image of a gay couple crying tears of joy as they embraced. While she had been cut off, living alone in loneliness, the world had changed greatly.

Religious groups will kick up a fuss. Why should they care who marries or divorces?

She felt nothing. Whether marriage was same-sex or opposite-sex, it was far removed from her. Since Lewis’s disappearance, Anna had lived in a state of weightless detachment.

Then, suddenly, an absurd image appeared in her mind. Lewis and Siron, holding a wedding in front of Helso State City Hall. The picture was so vivid it stopped her breath.

Oh, my god!

Anna choked and reached for her Coke, but it was already too late. She gulped it down, beating her chest, but the hiccups had already begun.

“Ah, hic, fuck. So annoying. hic.”

She was about to turn off the TV and tidy up, but holding back her irritation, she grabbed the remaining pizza instead. Between hiccups she devoured every last slice, then wiped away a single tear that had slid down her cheek with indifference.

Who cares. If Lewis and Siron got married, she would empty out her whole fortune to throw them the most extravagant gay wedding in the world.

The Lewis she knew was straight. He hadn’t dated many women, but the ones he had were fairly pretty. But Lewis had never thrown himself into anyone the way he had into Siron. The desperate emotion he showed toward Siron was something she found strange, incomprehensible.

Wiping away the tear shed in that uncomfortable, bittersweet imagining, Anna stood as if to shake off the feeling. She brought out a box she had stashed in the corner and laid out the prepaid phones Baekgyeong had left behind on the table.

There were five in all. Originally there had been six, but one vanished with Siron’s disappearance, leaving five. Three were still sealed, the other two had been opened.

One of the opened ones was a 2G flip phone, the other a cheap 3G smartphone. Two days ago, remembering that Baekgyeong had a hacker helper, Anna had asked an illegal shop to unlock them. She thought there might be some clue about Lewis and the others who had disappeared.

They succeeded in unlocking the 2G flip phone. But they failed to unlock the smartphone. Its security app detected the hack attempt immediately and locked the system. The 2G phone, by contrast, could be bypassed simply with a manufacturer service code.

Anna picked up the 2G phone and pressed the power button. After a short vibration, a hazy white light spread across the screen and the blocky pixel interface appeared. It had only been a few years since she last used a flip phone, but she struggled to remember how, fumbling at the physical buttons until she opened the call log. There were no calls. But fortunately, there was one number saved in contacts. Taking a deep breath, she pressed dial on the number saved as ‘dd’. Without even noticing that her hiccups had stopped, she waited quietly for the other side to answer.

“...Baekgyeong-hyung?”

A cautious voice came from the other end.

“Is it really you?”

It was a language she didn’t recognize. Perhaps Korean.

“Hello?”

When she replied in English to the strange language, silence followed.

“I’m Anna McCarthy. I live in Baggers City, Helso State, and I’m a friend of Baekgyeong’s. I heard you’re his helper, so I called... I was hoping you could help.”

Still silence. Anna went on.

“Baekgyeong disappeared, and my brother and Siron vanished with him. I’m looking for them, but... ah, I don’t have the ability...”

“Excuse me.”

The voice on the other side cut her off, full of suspicion.

“First tell me how you got that phone.”

“Baekgyeong disappeared leaving his car in my garage. If you want, I can send a photo.”

“Even if that’s true, why should I trust you?”

You little punk. Anna felt a spark of competitiveness at the man’s obstinate tone and answered.

“Shibal.”

“...What?”

“It’s a Korean curse word Baekgyeong taught me.”

On the other end, a chuckle leaked out, as if against his will.

“Well, that does sound plausible.”

“Do you know Lewis McCarthy? An actor from the series Return to Bunker.”

“Lewis McCarthy? I don’t know who that is. Return to Bunker... that’s a NetPlus series?”

“Yes, that one. The actor in it is my brother. He disappeared with Siron. It’s complicated...”

“When was the last time you had contact with Baekgyeong-hyung?”

“More than a month ago. He went to Catherine Choi’s funeral, and then vanished.”

“More than a month? Hm...”

“What about you? Have you contacted Baekgyeong recently?”

The man avoided answering. He gave no sign of wanting to share what he knew. Instead, he asked her something else.

“You said your brother is Lewis McCarthy?”

“Yes.”

“I just searched online. It says he’s not missing...”

Anna finished for him.

“He’s not dead. He came back, healthy as ever.”

“Came back? ...Wasn’t he brain-dead?”

Anna hesitated. Should she tell the truth, or lie? If Baekgyeong’s helper knew nothing about alphas and omegas, telling him might put him in danger. After a short deliberation, Anna chose selfishly.

“He became an alpha. That’s how he survived.”

“Alpha? ...What’s that?”

But she couldn’t go on. The TV screen changed, and the breaking news stopped every thought in her mind. There had been a terrorist attack at the Elm Hotel, in Coburn Hill, south of Baggers City. And moments later, a face appeared on the screen that she never expected to see.