Mr. No || NCT || Completed

28 - Where Renjun thinks about sharks

"I wonder, what kind of a survey is conducted by a lost doubler and a walking lie detector."

Renjun felt Chaewon's fingers gripping the back of his coat but didn't turn to look. Instead, he was assessing the man, Cha Kunwoo and trying to read his face. The old man looked like a turtle – not the cartoonish kind of a gentle being but the kind that wouldn't hesitate to bite if needed.
If he was a doubler, it was understandable for him to recognize that Renjun had been one as well but how did he know about Chaewon's ability?

"What did you say?" he asked.

Cha Kunwoo motioned for them to enter his small house. "Perhaps you should come in."

Renjun glanced behind him. "Do you want to wait in the car?" He wasn't sure if Chaewon was comfortable being around a stranger who appeared to know something about her.
Chaewon shook her head immediately. Her lips were in a tight line and she was still holding onto his coat. "Let's go."

The house wasn't the most comfortable but it was homey enough. The corners were dusty and when they walked past the tiny kitchen, there were a lot of dishes in the sink.

Cha Kunwoo led them to the living room and motioned for them to sit down on the pale grey couch while he went to get himself a chair from the kitchen.
"Do you want some coffee?" His tone made it clear that he didn't want to make coffee.
"No", Renjun answered.

The three of them sat in silence, eyeing each other.

Cha Kunwoo was the first to speak. "What an odd duo you are."
"Are you a doubler?" Renjun asked, ignoring his comment.

"Yes", the old man leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands in his lap, "were you injected?"

Renjun swallowed. He didn't want to tell the turtle-looking stranger anything about himself but it was naïve of him to expect to get answers without giving anything in return.

"Yes", the word tasted like ash in his mouth, "what do you know about the injections?"
"Not much", Cha Kunwoo was calm, "was this your first time getting injected?"

Renjun opened his mouth and then closed it, as his eyes drifted to Chaewon who was following the conversation closely.
"No", his teeth gritted together, "how are you alive despite the fact that hunters have your personal information?"

Hunters were called hunters for a reason. They searched for doublers and killed them based on their skewed mindset that doublers were unnatural beasts who didn't deserve to live.

"I didn't know that they even had my file", the man answered. Renjun raised his eyebrows at Chaewon and she nodded calmly – he wasn't lying. The man followed their silent exchange before speaking again, "maybe I'm not interesting enough for them. How did you find me?"

"I heard about the files from a private investigator and then broke into the hunters' warehouse", Renjun was trying to prioritize the questions he had but it was difficult. He hadn't expected to meet someone who might move the investigation further. "You said that you don't know much about the injections but your information was amongst the files that are supposedly connected to them. Do you have any idea why?"

The man hesitated and his eyes were drawn to Chaewon. "No comment."
"I take that as a yes", Renjun noted.
The man was still looking at Chaewon who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the interrogation. "What are you?"

Chaewon didn't hide her confusion.

The man tilted his head. "Do you speak Korean?"

"Of course", Chaewon answered right away.
"Then, what are you?"
Chaewon frowned. "Didn't you act earlier as if you knew what I was?"