Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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\'...Neutering? What? No way!\'

Lee Yeonwoo was about to freak out and search for the dice. The giant seller, just as surprised, quickly shook his head. His voice grew louder.

"No way! This is a precious purebred human. We need to breed them, neutering is out of the question."

"That\'s why I\'m asking. I\'ve heard that the offspring of humans with certificates sell for a high price."

The father giant looked at James and Yeonwoo with cold eyes, as if assessing an investment. The mother giant chimed in from beside him.

"We\'re raising a human female. How much would the offspring from these two sell for?"

"Do you have a certificate?"

"No. Would the price drop significantly then-"

The conversation continued, revolving around money.

The seller suggested that they buy a human with a certificate to breed them, promising to write a certificate for the offspring, trying to sell as much as possible.

While listening attentively to the seller, the father and mother giant discussed ways to make a decent return with minimal investment.

Yeonwoo, with his nerves on edge, didn\'t miss a word of their conversation.

"The time has come to part. One of us will be sold."

James, hanging onto the iron bars in Yeonwoo\'s direction, spoke. Yeonwoo glanced at James. Judging by the situation, it seemed certain that one of them would indeed be sold.

It didn\'t feel good at all. Especially after hearing talk about neutering.

"...Aren\'t you thinking of escaping?"

"Not until I find a way back or the company contacts me. Besides, you said you\'re an investigator from the company, right?"

Yeonwoo nodded, recalling the identity he had revealed during their introduction.

"I\'m an investigator working at the Korean branch."

"Good. If you return or get in touch with the company, please deliver a message."

"What is it?"

Yeonwoo looked at James through the iron bars. James jumped down from the iron bars he was hanging on. He continued in a light but businesslike and monotonous voice.

"Investigator James Kong reporting. This place is not fit for human habitation."

"Is that all?"

Yeonwoo gestured as if to say he was willing to deliver any other messages, tapping his ear.

There was the dice. As long as they were alive, they could return. Although he hesitated to reveal this, he was willing to pass on any message.

But James jumped up, hanging onto the iron bars with one hand, scratching his chin with the other.

"Nothing. Aren\'t you going to report about this world anyway?"

Implying that since they had fallen into a strange world, the contents of their reports as investigators would be similar.

Yeonwoo shook his head. It wasn\'t about work.

"Isn\'t there something you want to say to someone else? You might never return."

"...Nothing."

A firm answer after hesitation. The conversation ended. Yeonwoo turned his body silently.

And then, he saw two young giants with sparkling eyes looking at him and James. The son and daughter giants opened their mouths in awe.

"Wow! They\'re talking to each other!"

"Crying like that is so cute!"

"Dad! Can\'t we keep both? They seem to be friends!"

The father giant, patting the heads of his two children, gently pulled them back.

"We already have one at home, don\'t we? We\'ll only buy one. Hey, which one is better?"

The father giant asked the seller, who lifted James\'s cage with regret similar to that of the children.

"Both are healthy and have no problems, but their personalities are different. This one is lively."

Then he lifted Yeonwoo\'s cage.

"This one is calm."

"Let\'s take this one. The one we have at home is too lively...."

"Excellent choice! Then the price will be-."

The conversation progressed regardless of Yeonwoo\'s will. Yeonwoo, who had been sold, had a sullen expression, and James waved his hand roughly, finishing their farewell.

Then, the seller pulled out a black cloth and covered the cage. Despite the cage and the cloth, loud voices were still clearly heard.

Thus, Yeonwoo went to the house where the giant family lived.

---

---

"Here! This is our house!"

Whish-!

The cloth covering the cage was suddenly removed. As sunlight poured in, Yeonwoo shielded his eyes with one hand and looked around.

The giant\'s house.

A well-maintained garden and a two-story mansion surrounded by red brick walls. Its size was so enormous it seemed like a castle encircled by fortifications.

Thud-!

The daughter giant shook Yeonwoo\'s cage vigorously as she ran to the front door. Yeonwoo clung to the bars, swaying precariously. From behind, he heard the stern voice of the mother giant.

"Don\'t run!"

"Okay!"

She opened the front door, ran up the stairs, and dashed into a room on the second floor, enclosed by a dense wire mesh. Pushing the mesh door open, the daughter giant said,

"This is your room!"

Dizzy and exhausted from clinging to the bars, Yeonwoo swayed as he looked around the room.

A spacious room.

No giant-sized furniture, indicating it was meant for raising humans. Instead, there were small model houses, a toilet, a dining table, plates, and a water bowl scattered around.

Click-

The cage was placed in the center of the room, and the lock was undone. The daughter giant, who had tossed the lock and key carelessly to the floor, peeked around the room.

"Where did Yellow hide? Yellow! Come out! Your friend is here!"

No answer, no movement. The giant stomped around the room before giving up and turning back to Yeonwoo.

"Yellow must be asleep. Let me show you around the room."

Yeonwoo cautiously stepped one foot out of the cage but quickly retreated back inside.

\'She\'s just a kid. Who knows what she might do.\'

She had already swung the cage recklessly. She might try to pet him and end up breaking his bones.

"Hurry up and come out! This is your room!"

As Yeonwoo tried to sneak to the opposite corner of the cage, the daughter giant shoved her hand inside. Her clenched fist forced the cage door open, then got stuck. The iron bars screamed.

Screeech- Screeech-

Stretching her fingers, she tried to grab Yeonwoo, her tree-like fingers brushing past his nose and scratching the cage floor.

Her nails left scars on the floor.

Screeeeech-

Fingers filling his vision.

The cold bars against his back. Yeonwoo broke out in a cold sweat.

\'Does she not know her own strength?\'

If caught, his internal organs might burst. At the very least, his ribs would break. Or his skin might tear.

At that moment, accompanied by thundering footsteps, the father giant appeared. He spoke from beyond the wire mesh door.

"Child, you\'re scaring him. Stop and come down."

"Dad! He won’t come out!"

"He can\'t come out because you\'re blocking him. Now, come on."

He opened the wire mesh door, gesturing to his daughter. She reluctantly withdrew her hand and trudged over to her father.

"I wanted to show him around...."

"You can do that later. Let him rest now, let\'s go."

Clang-!

The wire mesh door closed. The sound and vibration of the giants descending the stairs faded away. Silence descended upon the room.

Yeonwoo took a deep breath, glanced around cautiously, and stepped out of the cage for the first time.

A vast room. High walls with windows above. Yeonwoo turned towards the myriad of miniatures, human-sized furniture, and toys scattered around the room.

Then, a voice came from behind.

"They actually bought one. F*cking idiots. Who’d give birth just because you say so?"

Yeonwoo turned around. A woman with blonde hair and an exotic appearance, making it hard to identify her ethnicity, strolled in, having emerged from some hidden place.

She glanced at Yeonwoo and then picked up a bucket-sized cup model, heading towards the water bowl. She scooped up water with the large bucket. With her back turned, she spoke.

"Hey. I don\'t know where you\'re from or what you do, but I don\'t intend to live as a pet human."

"...Me neither."

A stranger met in a strange world.

He had no intention of getting friendly or taking sides rashly. Unless they worked for the same company, they were just people from different worlds.

Of course, he didn\'t plan on being hostile without reason, but a relationship where they ignored each other seemed appropriate.

"Really? Good. Then help me."

The woman, hugging the bucket filled to the brim, passed by Yeonwoo and kicked the key that the daughter giant had thrown on the floor.

"We\'re going to escape."

"Escape?"

Did she think he was interested?

She went to the wire mesh door and started sprinkling water in a corner of the mesh. Yeonwoo noticed it wasn\'t a task done just for a day or two.

Only a small corner of the wire mesh, like mold, was rusted. If they cut through the rusty part, it was big enough for a human to pass through.

"Bring that key. We’ll use it to pound and saw through."

Drops of water hung on the wire mesh like dew. The rusted part was reddish and quite corroded. It seemed easy to break, even with the jagged parts of the key.

Yeonwoo didn\'t move.

\'Escape? Is that necessary?\'

If he could hold out until the day the dice rolled a critical success, he could return.

Of course, the rough handling by the young giant was dangerous, but the outside was even more dangerous.

There was no reason to leave the safe space of the mansion and venture into the huge world filled with all kinds of bugs, beasts, and unknown dangers. If he got hurt or died for no reason...

Yeonwoo remained silent for a long time.

"Hey. Why aren\'t you answering-"

The woman stopped sprinkling water and turned her head, her expression hardening. She glared at Yeonwoo and muttered softly.

"You don’t plan to escape, do you?"