Blue Summer

Chapter 26: A Promise of Old

Ibuki had been under observation after the test. Minutes later, he asked to be taken to the washroom. He was taken there, and inside, he fatally injured himself to the point that the doctors at the facility had no choice but to take him to a hospital. Blood loss of the test subjects clearly was not on the list when preparing the medical system within the facility. When Ibuki was taken, the doctors hoaxed that he was a mentally ill patient who fatally harmed himself during a routine checkup. The hospital staff paid little heed to the reason he had gotten injured and got right into operating on him and providing him with blood.

When the operation was done, Ibuki was kept under observation. Most of the facility staff that had brought him there returned to the facility. The only ones left there were Chang's henchmen. They patrolled the area outside the room Ibuki was kept in. Only nurses and doctors were allowed in for checkups. All this had happened while Chang had just left for Incheon. So, the men did not inform him of what had happened.

Ibuki remained in the hospital for two days, recovering from the injury. The men had made sure that the hospital did not suspect any drugs inside Ibuki's body and uncovered the whole test. On the third day, a nurse entered the room to give Ibuki his medicines. Ibuki weakly asked to borrow his phone. The nurse, taking pity on his condition, gave his phone. Ibuki dialled a number, one he could recall. It rang for long before it was picked up. Ibuki had called Misao, but unfortunately for him, her number had been changed, and this number now belonged to some stranger. The stranger hung up after saying it was the wrong number. Ibuki dialled another number, but he got the number wrong this time because he could not recall it fully. Finally, he decided to call the police.

Ibuki tried explaining what had been happening in the facility, but he could not tell them where he was or where the facility was. Outside, the men realised that the nurse was taking far too long, and they barged in. They quickly snatched the phone from Ibuki and pinned him against the bed. The police felt the urgency in Ibuki's voice and decided to trace the number.

Ibuki was still pinned against the bed with the arm of one of the men pressing against his neck. He tilted his head front and bit the man on the arm. The man retreated, holding his arm, which Ibuki took as a chance to run. He threw all that he could grab at the men before running away from the hospital. The nurse watched in horror.

The men ran after Ibuki outside of the hospital. There were many people and cars outside the hospital, so spotting Ibuki became harder. Finally, they did spot him running outside the hospital premises. By the time Chang had received the call, the men were sure that Ibuki had made an excellent run for his life. When Chang finally arrived, it was dawn. It had begun raining, and still, there was no sign of Ibuki.

Ibuki had stopped running long ago and was now crouched in the corner of a bus stop. His stomach was hurting, and so was his head. He felt like vomiting. There, he saw a few passengers waiting for the bus. He approached one of them, asking to borrow their phone, but they refused. He was about to ask another when the bus arrived, and they left. Ibuki was alone under the night sky, full of whipping rain and thunder. He gathered the strength to move from the stop and try to locate the nearest police station. But before he could, Chang and his men finally spotted him.

Chang stopped his car and ran after Ibuki, overtaking him and overpowering him to the ground. Ibuki screamed for help. Chang did not want to garner attention, so he slowly backed off, but Ibuki took the chance to run from there. Chang got into the car to spot him and make sure he arrived at an empty, abandoned place so that he could catch him and take him back.

Ibuki did not want to run anymore, so he turned his way from the busy streets of Seoul to a dark alley amidst cheap rental housing. Chang and his men came after him and had him against a wall with them on the opening, barring his escape.

Realising Ibuki had gotten them exactly where he wanted, he pulled out a gun from his pocket. He had stolen it from the very man who had pinned him against the bed. While he tried to bite his arm, he also used his hand to steal the gun sneakingly.

He pointed it at his head and spoke, his voice shivering with cold and fear, "I will kill myself here and now. I will release myself of the pain this life has given me. But if you don't want me to kill myself, you better stop forcing me to beg for my life. I will not beg for it!"

Chang was furious, anxious and nervous. His hand was quivering. He lifted it and signalled his men to put their guns down. Then he signalled Ibuki to put his gun down, "If you put that down, I will take you back and not torture you anymore. But you better not hurt yourself anymore."

And so Ibuki did. He placed the gun down and let Chang's men come and take him. After almost three days, he was finally taken back to the facility. He hoped it was not the last time he saw the outside world. He hoped that the call he made to the police would give them some information about him because he had made sure that he told them his name and Chang's. That would lead the police to Chang and eventually the facility. But his attempt wasn't the only one that would drive the police to Chang; it was also Misao's.

Misao, after seeing the paper, had remained uncomfortable. She wanted to know why Yun-Ji, of all people, had Ibuki listed as a test subject. What did she have to do with him?

Her uneasiness grew daily, and she wished to get answers to her questions. Where was she going to get those answers? - By following Yun-Ji to her office.

So, two days after Misao discovered Ibuki's involvement in the drug test, she decided to follow Yun-Ji to her office.

Misao asked the old lady she had befriended to let her borrow the small car that she used to drive from work to back home. The lady pleasedly gave it to Misao, who took it to drive after Yun-Ji. The distance from the house to the office was not long, but it took Misao at least an hour to get there. So far Misao had done good in not letting Yun-Ji notice her. Misao was nervous. What if Yun-Ji spotted her? What would Misao say as a hoax?

But for now, she had to keep her nerves and accomplish what she had set out to do. Maybe, just maybe, God had given her another chance to fulfil her promise to Ibuki: to make his life better. She would contact Officer Lee and give him the details if she could find the truth. That way, he would be able to find Ibuki, and Misao could help Ibuki.

So, Misao made her way into this big building on the roadside, which was grey of concrete, and not much design was involved. It was very simple. Misao had never really questioned what Yun-Ji would do if she had given the position of director to Sungmin. But today, she had a chance to see what she did.

Misao followed Yun-Ji into the building. Inside on the first floor was the lounge and the reception. From there, Yun-Ji took the lift to the fifth floor. Misao decided to use the stairs, however bone-breaking they would be. She arrived well in time to catch Yun-Ji entering a well-guarded room. Misao had to avoid the guards. How was she going to do that? She was no agent or spy. She had never followed anyone like this. She had to come up with an idea as fast as possible. Otherwise, she might lose crucial information. Ibuki's life was at stake. Misao had to do something. What could she do?