Eleceed — Chapter 408

SO YOUR FRIEND CAN BE TREATED WITH THE SOLUTION THE FRAME HAS?

RIGHT!

IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE.

THEY GAVE ME A FEW TO TRY FOR MY EXPERIMENTS, SO I'M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH IT.

ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT REALLY A NEUTRALIZER...

...BUT IT'LL WORK LIKE ONE TO CLEAR THE SIDE EFFECT OUT OF HIS SYSTEM.

WE FOUND A WAY TO TREAT JISUK, SO IT'S GOOD NEWS, RIGHT...?

SO WHAT'S... WITH THE FACES?

BECAUSE THAT VERY SOLUTION...

...BELONGS TO THE FRAME.

JIYOUNG YOO'S GONNA HAVE TO ASK THEM FOR THAT FAVOR...

...BUT THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT THEY'LL WANT IN RETURN.

OR WORSE, THEY MIGHT MAKE DEMANDS OF SHINHWA AS A WHOLE...

...AND NOT JUST JIYOUNG YOO.

EITHER WAY, THEY'LL TRY TO SQUEEZE OUT AS MUCH AS THEY CAN.

AND THE SUBSTANCE DELEIN MENTIONED...

IS MOST LIKELY SOMETHING THEY COOKED UP THROUGH UNDERGROUND EXPERIMENTS.

SO IF JIYOUNG YOO GOES AND ASKS FOR IT WHEN SHE'S NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT EXISTS?

THEY MIGHT NOT LET HER WALK AWAY.

AND THE SAME GOES FOR THAT DELEIN GUY.

WHAT? HOW COME?

WELL, THE FRAME KNOWS HE'S IN THIS COUNTRY, RIGHT?

THEY EVEN TRIED TO TAKE HIM ONCE, REMEMBER?

SO THEY'LL CONNECT THE DOTS SOONER OR LATER, REALIZE DELEIN'S THE ONE WHO TALKED...

...AND COME AFTER HIM FOR SPILLING THEIR SECRET.

IN FACT, HE PROBABLY KNOWS MUCH MORE THAN JUST THIS ONE THING, SO I'M SURE HE'S UP THERE ON THEIR KILL LIST.

AND YOU KNOW, THAT ORGANIZATION'S HAD TOO MUCH TO DEAL WITH LATELY TO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM...

SO I'D SAY HE KINDA POKED THE BEAR BY OPENING HIS MOUTH.

THEN WHAT DO WE DO?

IF WE ASK THE FRAME FOR HELP, WE PUT WOOIN'S MENTOR IN DANGER...

...BUT IF WE DON'T, JISUK CAN'T BE TREATED.

LET ME MAKE A QUICK PHONE CALL!

WOULDN'T THE FRAME...

ASK FOR DELEIN IN RETURN?

I MEAN, THAT'S VERY POSSIBLE.

WHY WOULD HE TELL THE KIDS ABOUT SOMETHING THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE HIS OWN SAFETY?

YOU'RE SURE ABOUT THIS, RIGHT?

YES, YES, I TOLD YOU ALREADY...

YOUR BUDDY GETTING TREATED REALLY MAKES YOU THAT HAPPY?

ACTUALLY, IT DOES...

HEY, KIDDO, DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO LAUGH OR SMILE?

HOW CAN YOU LOOK SO BLANK?

COME ON, SHOW ME A FACE. ANY FACE.

HERE, TRY USING THOSE MUSCLES IN YOUR FACE.

OR TRY LIFTING YOUR LIPS TO SMILE, LIKE THIS.

NOW YOU LOOK LIKE A KID YOUR AGE.

SORRY?

YOU SHOULD GO NOW.

I COULDN'T GET MUCH DONE...

AFTER YOU ALL BARGED IN LIKE THAT.

OH...

AND DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND, WOOIN.

THE FRAME WILL GIVE HIM WHAT HE NEEDS.

I BELIEVE YOU!

SHINHWA

COMPREHENSIVE HOSPITAL

I KNOW.

YOU DO?!

YEAH. I MEAN, I WAS SUPER EXCITED AT FIRST,

SO I TOLD MY SISTER.

AND RIGHT OFF THE BAT SHE SAID...

...GOING TO THE FRAME FOR HELP WAS WAY TOO RISKY.

THEN SHE EMPHASIZED IT COULD ALSO PUT WOOIN'S MENTOR IN SERIOUS DANGER.

AND SHE'S RIGHT. I MEAN, HOW DID IT NOT OCCUR TO ME, RIGHT?

SO THAT'S OUT OF THE QUESTION.

I SEE, SO YOU KNEW ALL THAT...

ARE YOU OKAY THOUGH?

F***! WHAT DO YOU THINK?!

I CAN'T USE THE POWER I'VE USED ALL! MY! LIFE!

I'M THIS CLOSE TO LOSIN' IT, MAN.

DID YOU FORGET HOW SULKY I WAS AFTER YOU BEAT ME THAT DAY?

EVERYTHING I GREW UP DREAMING ABOUT...

ALL MY PLANS AND GOALS IN LIFE ARE GONE, JUST LIKE THAT!

I'M BARELY KEEPING IT TOGETHER!

I FEEL SO USELESS... TOTAL EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, YOU KNOW?!

BUT...

I CAN'T RISK MY SISTER'S SAFETY JUST SO I CAN GET TREATED...

...OR THE SAFETY OF WOOIN'S MENTOR, FOR THAT MATTER.

THERE'S NOTHING TO EVEN CONSIDER, YOU KNOW?

...JISUK...

YOU'RE THE BEST FRIEND I COULD ASK FOR.

MY A**.

IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND.

THE PERSON GIVING THEM THE SOLUTION...

...EVEN WHEN HE KNOWS IT'S DANGEROUS FOR HIMSELF...

AND THAT KID'S FRIEND GIVING UP ON IT WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT...

...EVEN WHEN IT'S HIS ONLY HOPE...

THIS PLACE IS A BIT... WEIRD.

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

THERE'S SOMETHING I NEED TO GET.

AND SETTLE THE SNACK TAB, WHILE I'M AT IT...