By Zephyria Looking at the white wall, Eui-jae mechanically stroked Sa-young’s head. He suddenly looked down at the black head leaning against him.
‘…Huh?’
The part where their skin touched felt strangely cold, and something felt off. He had seen people bound by the Black Chain many times while working with Jung-bin in the past, but this was the first time he had seen it affect the body to this extent.
The moment Eui-jae pushed Sa-young away slightly with his arm to check his face, a hand slowly rose and grabbed his arm. However, there wasn’t much strength in his grip; it was more like he was just resting it there.
Sa-young raised his head and moved his lips.
“…Why.”
“Huh?”
“Where are you going again?”
He could feel more strength being put into the fingertips touching his arm. Was this bastard going to break his fingers? Even though he knew that couldn’t happen, he couldn’t help but feel anxious. Eui-jae quickly patted the hand grabbing his arm, trying to soothe him.
“I’m not going anywhere, you idiot. Where would I go?”
“……”
Eui-jae met his eyes, which didn’t have even a grain of trust in him, and shut his mouth. Did we really have so little trust between us? Why? Eui-jae pouted.
“Hey, I’m really not going. I have nowhere to go.”
“Then what is it?”
“I want to see your face. Just stay still.”
“……”
Sa-young pursed his lips. Eui-jae turned to face Lee Sa-young, cupped his face with both hands, and examined it from side to side. His already pale complexion had turned even whiter, he was sweating, and his purple eyes were a little dazed.
He couldn’t even pretend to be brazen, so he must really be feeling unwell. He wondered if there was a medical team waiting around the venue. Eui-jae frowned slightly and asked.
“Are you sick right now?”
“……”
“If you’re sick, you have to say where it hurts. Does holding it in make it better?”
“……”
J had seen countless Hunters hide major injuries and pretend to be okay, only to suddenly collapse. In Dungeons, in Rifts. There was always someone who insisted on enduring it, saying they didn’t want to make others anxious, without considering the burden on those who would have to carry their corpses.
His mouth began to dry out, and his fingertips trembled. Eui-jae released Sa-young’s face and stepped back.
‘Ah, damn it.’
He didn’t want Lee Sa-young to see his hands shaking. Sa-young slowly raised his head, looking puzzled.
“…Why.”
“No, I’m just going to move. You should lie down. It would be better to lie down completely.”
Eui-jae pushed him away completely and tried to get up, but his arm was grabbed again. Sa-young’s face got closer again as he retreated. His dazed eyes had turned fierce.
“What the hell, you said you weren’t going.”
“No, I’m just moving.”
He replied irritably, pulling away the hand grabbing his arm, but the other man had no intention of backing down. He needed time to calm his churning stomach, but this guy wouldn’t even give him that moment.
“I’ll just sit over there.”
“Another lie…”
Did this guy have no trust in people? Who the hell threw away all of Lee Sa-young’s trust?
Eui-jae was about to retort sharply when Sa-young, who had been catching his breath, suddenly leaned all his weight against Eui-jae and buried his head in his shoulder.
He didn’t know where the sickly guy suddenly got that strength, but it didn’t hurt much. Maybe his body just swayed a little. Eui-jae stared at the dark crown of his head leaning on his shoulder with a dumbfounded expression.
“What are you doing?”
“…Hurts.”
“What?”
“I said it hurts.”
“……”
The words, “So what?” were on the tip of his tongue. However, the body temperature touching him was unnecessarily cold, and Lee Sa-young was still sweating. He could hear an irregular heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump…
‘Ah.’
Eui-jae looked at the ceiling and twisted his lips.
‘Annoying…’
Was this the kind of annoyance Lee Sa-young felt? Eui-jae stared blankly at the large body leaning against him, then sighed deeply and relaxed his body. His body, unable to withstand the leaning weight, fell backward. The soft cushion supported his head and back, and Sa-young lay on top of Eui-jae. Actually, “crushed” was a more accurate description.
Eui-jae, crushed under the heavy body, muttered.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“……”
“I’m tired too, so let’s not make a bigger fuss, okay?”
“Cha Eui-jae.”
Sa-young, who had been silent for a while, spat out three familiar words. Eui-jae patted his broad back and replied indifferently.
“You’ve been dropping honorifics since a while ago?”
“……”
“Just know that I’m letting it slide because you’re sick.”
Eui-jae rolled his eyes slightly. While he was wrestling with this guy, the auction was about to start.
‘I just need to be crushed like this for a little while.’ Eui-jae closed his eyes, listening to the breathing coming from right next to him, but then he opened his eyes at a thought that suddenly crossed his mind.
‘What is this bastard going to do about the aftermath after his wrist is released?’
Just then, the numbers that had been rapidly decreasing changed to 0, and a loud alarm sounded. It was a siren similar to the one he had heard in the bathroom in the early morning. Lee Sa-young, who had rubbed his forehead against his shoulder, cursed briefly.
“Ah… shit.”
Eui-jae patted his back.
“It’s time. Get up.”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to participate in the auction?”
Sa-young, who had been moping for a while, staggered to his feet and leaned back against the sofa. He finally felt like he could breathe a little after the heavy body was gone. Eui-jae also got up, straightened his crumpled clothes, and put on his Gas mask again. Meanwhile, Lee Sa-young was frowning, his eyes closed, slumped against the back of the sofa.
‘He looks like laundry.’
Eui-jae, who was ready, pointed to the door.
“Let’s go.”
“……”
Lee Sa-young sighed deeply, got up, and slowly took a step. As soon as he opened the door, he felt a lot of people. It seemed like they were the last ones to come out. Well, with an S+ grade weapon right in front of them and the auction interrupted, everyone must have been dying of impatience.
Lee Sa-young went to his seat, sat down deeply, rested his arm on the armrest, and put his forehead on it. He had his eyes tightly closed, as if he had a headache. Eui-jae quietly took a seat behind him.
The auctioneer he had seen earlier came back on stage. He bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much for waiting. We will resume the auction!”
Event staff members struggled to lift a huge spear onto the table on the stage.
“This is the S+ grade equipment first created by Hong Ye-seong, ‘Spear of the Giant God’! The starting bid is…”
Suddenly, Lee Sa-young opened his mouth.
“Hold up the paddle for me.”
“Huh? The auction hasn’t started yet?”
“Just hold it up, quickly.”
The moment Eui-jae grabbed the paddle on the table and raised it high, everyone’s attention was focused on them, and the venue became quiet. Lee Sa-young, who slowly opened his eyes, opened his mouth.
“I’m going to buy it no matter what the price is… so get lost.”
His low voice clearly swept through the hall. The silence was only temporary, and soon the shouts of enraged super hamsters could be heard from around them, but Lee Sa-young, who had made the explosive statement, closed his eyes again.
At that moment, the walls surrounding them suddenly turned into sand and scattered with a ‘poof’ sound, cutting through the noise. Someone must have removed the walls. The hall, which had been quiet for a moment, became even more chaotic.
Eui-jae, who was standing blankly with the paddle, looked to his left. Honeybee, sitting next to a large bear-like man in a gray suit, was glaring at them with her body turned completely towards them. He glanced to his right, and this time Bae Won-woo was staring at them with his mouth wide open.
He unconsciously turned his gaze to the stage. Hong Ye-seong, sitting on the stage, was craning his neck like a turtle, looking back and forth between Cha Eui-jae and Lee Sa-young with shining eyes, as if he was having the time of his life.
Eui-jae instinctively realized it. What Lee Sa-young had just done was a declaration of war against the super hamsters, and at this moment, Cha Eui-jae was… the standard-bearer holding the flag.
‘Oh, I’m screwed.’
In other words, he was the first lackey of Lee Sa-young who needed to be dealt with.
The auctioneer opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
“We, we will start the auction!”
Jung-bin slightly raised his head as if he could hear the loud cheers. But he shrugged his shoulders and stared straight ahead. This was a completely separated space, so there was no way he could hear the sounds from outside. He slowly walked to the steel desk and stood in front of it.
“Well… then.”
Jung-bin placed the file on the steel desk with a thud and pulled out a chair. The dark room, similar in structure to an interrogation room prepared by the Awakened Management Bureau, was his waiting room. Jung-bin clasped his hands together and stared at the man sitting across from him. The yellow hair shone white under the soft lighting.
“Hasn’t the auction started yet? Don’t you need to watch it?”
“Well, I doubt anything special will happen. This is more important right now.”
“Oh… are you going to release me?”
“No.”
Ban Gyu-min, Gyu-Gyu, sitting on the chair, had bandages wrapped around his shoulders. His whole body was bound to the chair with Black Chains, but he didn’t lose his relaxed smile.
“I think we have a lot to talk about. Gyu-Gyu.”
Gyu-Gyu, hearing his name, smiled brightly.
“Well, yeah. Did you release Lee Sa-young?”
“No, we plan to release him right before he goes home after the auction.”
“Aww, just send him to the Awakened Management Bureau.”
Gyu-Gyu wiggled his bound body and grumbled.
“Aren’t you being too lenient with him~? You’ve been holding me like this and even keeping me locked up in here.”
“Yes, yes, that’s because you started it first. And…”
Jung-bin stared at Gyu-Gyu with cold eyes.
“Although we entrusted you with the full responsibility of tracking J… there have been too few reports.”
“Oh… that guy?”
“Yes. The Director told me to get it from you today no matter what.”
“How boring.”
“I think we’ve given you enough time. It’s time to answer.”
Jung-bin tapped the desk with his fingertips and opened his mouth.
“Who is J?”