Trapped in the Idol Universe

└ This is crazy;;;

└ Public interest, my ass

└ TL;DR: There are two? I thought it was just one

└ This is insane

└ Filming this lol does this person have two lives? lmao

└ Are they fighting each other? It’s so brutal...

└ WTF where did that thing come from???

└ This is Seoul, not a war zone...? Ulsan forever Blood-Fiend-free

└ And you’re still filming...

— and a new charge added for Roy: ‘Blood Fiend controversy (new).’

A video one citizen shot during the evacuation was uploaded to social media and spread instantly. Fortunately, it was a sea of flames all around, so no faces were visible. However, the footage clearly showed two figures grappling, and near the end, Roy mercilessly tearing off another Fiend’s arm in graphic detail.

Thanks to the clip titled “Blood Fiend territory dispute,” it got twisted into “there were two Fiends in Apgujeong,” not one. Of course, Roy—unaware of this—had just arrived at the Awakened Hospital.

끼이이익!

As the limo screeched to a halt, leaving skid marks, the staff and patients at the entrance screamed and scattered.

“Sorry!”

Amid the chaos, Roy—knowing he was in the wrong—shouted an apology and flung open the rear door, announcing:

“There’s an emergency patient! It’s urgent!”

He unbuckled his seatbelt, hoisted Hojin onto his back, and dashed off again—not to the ER, but to the director’s office.

“Excuse me! The ER is over here—”

Having been here a few times, Roy knew the hospital layout. He deftly eluded the security guards and staff trying to stop him and headed for the emergency stairs.

“Stop right there!”

“Get him!”

Security personnel gave chase, but Roy was faster. In the blink of an eye, he bounded up the stairs and reached Eunsung’s floor.

벌컥!

He threw open the stairwell door and made eye contact with a passing nurse.

“Director! Director, where are you?!”

“Di-director?”

Tears welling, Roy pleaded with a quivering voice:

“My brother is dying. Please, hurry.”

Faced with those doe-like eyes, the nurse immediately gave in. Though she shouldn’t have revealed it, her heart melted.

“I saw him go into the restroom...”

At her words, Roy sprinted off in the direction she pointed.

“Director!”

He flung the door open to find Eunsung, about to wash his hands, staring at him through the mirror.

“...?”

Eunsung’s brow furrowed. Weren’t the Detention Bureau agents supposed to have handcuffed and taken him away? So why was he back? Alone? And looking like he’d returned from hell, carrying someone over his shoulders?

“Please save him!” Roy burst into tears, pressing Hojin into Eunsung’s arms.

“W-what is—”

“Please save him. I’ll pay whatever you want.”

Taken aback but seeing Hojin covered in blood, Eunsung swiftly checked his pulse. It was weak but stable. Apart from a gash on his forearm, Hojin didn’t seem badly injured—just exhausted into unconsciousness. Roy, on the other hand, looked like he needed treatment. His skin was shredded, and he was covered in wounds.

“Roy, are you okay?”

Sniffling, Roy didn’t hear Eunsung’s question but nodded. Grasping Eunsung’s lapel, he slurred:

“Please save him. If Hojin dies, I’ll die too.”

Eunsung pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Roy’s stubborn tantrum reminded him that, despite being seventeen, the boy could be relentless.

“Alright, calm down first.”

If he delayed, Roy would collapse. Laying Hojin on the floor, Eunsung cast his heal. It was the first time he’d used it in his own hospital restroom, rather than at an emergency scene. Light burst from his fingertips, surrounding Hojin, and Roy’s sobs quieted as his brother’s breathing steadied.

“Hoo...”

Only when Hojin’s breathing evened out did Roy relax.

“Thank goodness...”

But relief lasted only a moment. As tension left his body, chills and pain flooded him—he’d neglected his own injuries.

“Ugh.”

Looking down, he saw his arms and legs shredded, like a zombie. The real pain hit, and his fragile psyche collapsed.

“Doctor, sob, it hurts so much.”

His limbs were heavy, blood trickled from his neck, and he could barely breathe—he panicked.

“Roy, you’re okay. Breathe. Breathe.”

“Ugh, huff...”

The room spun, his ears rang. He couldn’t make out Eunsung’s voice. Clutching his chest, Roy passed out.

✧

How many times had I ever fainted? As I recall, never. Even during that time I slept only three hours a day and ran local events, I never collapsed. Yet since arriving in the Wasteland, this was the second time. What am I, a sunfish? Fainting at every little shock? My pride—my only strength—was shattered.

‘Did I finally die this time?’

Darkness. I saw nothing. Before blacking out, I faintly remembered Hojin lying on the restroom floor. Oh— and pulverizing that Blood Fiend.

‘There was something else...’

The Detention Bureau agents faded from memory. Important, but I couldn’t recall. Then I heard a steady beeping.

Beep—beep—

‘This sound...?’

A heart monitor! Realizing the source, my eyes shot open. I wasn’t dead, just unconscious. But someone had stepped on me—my body ached and my head felt like it would split.

“Ugh...”

Groaning, I looked down to see bandages on my arms and cuffs on my ankles.

What the hell?

Bandages and cuffs? Crazy. Two things made me furious. First, I was sure I was with Eunsung before collapsing—so what was this shabby treatment? Second, those ankle cuffs.

‘Isn’t that for criminals?’

My eyes were wide open. No guardian was here to ask; it was a single room. I seethed alone until the door opened.

“...Huh?”

Standing there was Kang Saeon, leader of Detention Bureau Special Team 1. Seeing him reminded me I was under arrest. Saeon folded his arms and stared down at me, his cold gaze mixing anger and disbelief.

“You’re awake.”

That single line froze the room. Right. I deserved to be pissed—I’d agreed to wait in the car, then vanished.

‘Time to explain...’

Unsure what to say, I parted my lips. Before I could speak, Saeon rattled off a list of terrifying charges at lightning speed:

“Arson, unlicensed driving as a minor, unauthorized theft of a government vehicle, property damage, running a red light, wrong-way driving, speeding, crossing the center line, civilian kidnapping, escape during an emergency arrest—”

“What? Wait?”

He just showed up and unloaded that? Too fast to follow, and each charge was worse than the last.

“All that is against you, Roy.”

“....”

I was screwed.