Flowers Are Bait

She caught the lighter in her hands. As the startled Lee-yeon turned her head, a picturesque landscape, painted like a painting, came into view.

Holding the lighter tightly, Lee-yeon looked at the trees she had relied on and loved all her life. If you went up from here, there would probably be a tree garden filled with all kinds of green. It must be a completely different world from this place, filled with screams and the smell of blood.

Hwaido, a lush forest that covers the horror beneath your feet. Lee-yeon suddenly got sick of it.

“Lee-yeon, quickly…!”

Jo Kyung-cheon urged, but she remained silent. Now might be the moment to choose people over trees. Her eyes briefly met with his.

“You’ll get caught if you hesitate, girl! I won’t be able to help you then!”

He urgently tore open the plastic-wrapped protective suit. In the underground of the classified Hwaidome, monitoring researchers were everywhere. Someone may have already noticed an anomaly through the CCTV cameras scattered throughout the underground.

Whether she knew about this uneasy feeling or not, Lee-yeon remained motionless.

‘The truth of this place must be revealed…!’

She continued to fiddle with the lighter. If she set fire to the tree garden and the flames gradually engulfed the Hwaidome, the researchers and security guards residing here would have no choice but to evacuate. Amid people escaping, Lee-yeon wanted to pull out all those who were imprisoned underground.

But if she became the arsonist setting fire to the tree garden…

“Where on earth is your mind wandering off to…!”

This time, she would be going against her principles. She was a tree doctor, one who confronted the lumberjack man who killed trees. She has the of responsibility and pride that came from understanding and cherishing trees more than anyone else.

That sense of duty has kept Lee-yeon alive all this time. The time spent dedicating her heart to washing away the dirty bloodline and sacrificing for the trees and nature—was the most powerful reason for her existence.

However, the moment she sets fire to the trees, that sanity will be damaged. She didn’t let go of the lighter even as her trembling lips barely held it. Her heart was steadily sinking.

Then, Lee-yeon’s gaze, which had been looking at the landscape, was captivated by a purple flower.

“Director, there’s a Silk Flower over there.” She said to him.

“What nonsense is this out of the blue?!”

“Do you know the meaning of that flower?”

At that moment, Kwon Chae-woo’s voice seemed to ring in her ears.

“… Trust me.'”

Lee-yeon held her breath and urgently grabbed Jo Kyung-cheon’s arm.

“…I’ll make just one phone call.”

“What?”

The eyes that had been shaking incessantly suddenly settled. Yes, he knew that Lee-yeon was stubborn and fiercer than fire. The moment she became convinced that Kwon Chae-woo would be finding her, the trembling limbs gradually calmed, and color returned to her pale face. The anxiety that had been as thick as darkness surprisingly began to dissipate.

Baby, let’s trust Dad together… I believe in Chae-woo.

‘But what if he doesn’t come? He’s the one who left you once. Don’t gamble for no reason.’

Doubts echoed simultaneously, but Lee-yeon took a deep breath. She couldn’t keep staring at the past wounds and judging the person in front of her.

Kwon Chae-woo, the person who had chased her frighteningly, even stopped the car in pursuit. Lee-yeon decided to follow only what she had seen and felt personally.

Meanwhile, Jo Kyung-cheon sighed deeply, wiping his tired-looking face.

“There’s no communication underground. Both the internet and phone lines are completely blocked.”

“…What?”

“We are being monitored.”

The two of them didn’t notice the red light entering the computer’s built-in camera at that moment.

“Due to the fear of internal whistleblowing or information leakage, surveillance is strict. So, stop overthinking and put this on quickly. If you keep fussing like this, getting caught is just a matter of time…! Whether it’s a phone call or whatever, you need to get out of here first!”

He tossed his phone to Lee-yeon.

Lee-yeon dressed in attire similar to that of a researcher and followed Jo Kyung-cheon. On one side of the glass wall, ominous black flowers bloomed profusely, and from the opposite room, the desperate screams of people echoed.

“S-sto-op, pl-please…!”

Lee-yeon clenched her fist tightly, exerting strength on her temples.

Black flowers don’t occur naturally. It became evident to her that these rare plants, used as a key ingredient for the Sumer compound, were being unnaturally produced.

Flowers blooming from human blood. Even thinking about it again, it was a strange and horrifying plant.

At that moment, someone opened the blinds and looked outside. Lee-yeon turned her head abruptly as her gaze met that of a fierce-looking man.

“…!”

However, in a brief moment, she witnessed a person tied to a chair, resembling a bed. The gruesome sight made her pulse throb violently beneath her throat.