Flowers Are Bait Chapter 226:
Just then, as if to interrupt Lee-yeon’s thoughts, a glass was pushed in front of her. Kwon Ki-seok, who had appeared out of nowhere, held out a glass filled with “Summer.” She had no intention of drinking, not even a sip, but Lee-yeon quietly accepted the glass.
While Lee-yeon was absorbed in her thoughts, people who had taken the drug began to show reactions, bit by bit.
They spoke to the empty air, moved like they were dancing, but their reactions could be broadly divided into two types:
They laughed or cried.
The amplitude of these simple emotions was palpable. Surprisingly, no one exhibited extreme behavior. Clearly, they had taken drugs, but they held their hands together as if they had witnessed a god.
“Each one will meet what they’ve been yearning for.”
Jo Kyung-cheon, Hwaidome, the drug fields, Suguk Pharmaceuticals, and Kwon Ki-seok with the new drug Summer—all these things were scratching at some sensitive nerve in Lee-yeon. The picture felt elusive, like something almost in reach but not quite.
“In the near future, the landscape of desires and pleasures will change. People will want to stay in the world of fantasy longer than reality.”
“…”
“Lee-yeon, do you have something you’re yearning for?”
“Yoon Joo-ha.”
Lee-yeon’s mouth opened involuntarily.
“Is it by any chance derived from Yoon Joo-ha’s name, this name ‘Summer’?”
Lee-yeon followed her intuition. Wasn’t the name ‘Summer’ taken from the summer part of Yoon Joo-ha (夏)?
In that moment, Kwon Ki-seok’s demeanor dramatically changed. It was like the sound of a single streak of gold going through the frozen ice. Kwon Ki-seok stared at Lee-yeon with eyes that seemed to be teeming with all sorts of maggots.
“Now you’re babbling about Yoon Joo-ha, like everybody else.”
His snake-like eyes bore into Lee-yeon, and despite not saying a word, there was something palpable. More than emotions, it was something closer to madness that emanated from Kwon Ki-seok.
Just receiving that gaze, Lee-yeon’s fingertips stiffened, and her insides writhed.
As he bent over, he whispered in Lee-yeon’s ear.
“Do you know why Yoon Joo-ha died?”
Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched, and strangely, she felt short of breath.
“Why should I even mention that hateful woman’s name—”
Then, something like a wooden stick forcefully wedged itself between the two of them.
“Both of you, separate a bit.”
“…!”
Startled, Lee-yeon turned her head, and there was Kwon Chae-woo, standing upright with a crutch.
***
For a moment, Lee-yeon’s heart raced, and her gaze lingered on the empty glass that he was clutching. As it sunk in that a sick patient had consumed something deadly, she pushed aside the overwhelming panic and started to think.
“Did you wear your school uniform today?”
…What?
“What are you saying? What’s happening—”
Strangely, Kwon Chae-woo, who appeared somewhat innocent, tilted his chin.
“Did you not want to hear me play today?”
What’s he saying?
A few moments ago: