175 – HGL 175

175

Eui-jae clenched and unclenched his fists. The power that had disappeared had fully returned. A strange door that suddenly appeared in ‘Cha Eui-jae’s’ memories. A familiar voice that ‘Cha Eui-jae’ had never heard in his memories. Eui-jae rummaged through his memories. That beastly growling voice….

‘Cha Eui-jae.’

It was similar to what he had heard at the end of the Fragment Yoon Ga-eul had shown him. Lee Sa-young was still sitting motionless, smiling. It was a smile so meticulously crafted it was chilling. Everything that made him up didn’t seem human.

Should I neutralize him first? Eui-jae cracked his knuckles. And immediately after, Bang!

Eui-jae shot out like an arrow, kicked the chair away, grabbed Lee Sa-young’s neck, and climbed on top of him. Thud, his head hit the floor. Clatter, clatter, clatter…. The watch that had fallen powerlessly from his grip rolled away.

Lee Sa-young, suddenly pinned to the floor and being strangled, didn’t resist. His smiling expression didn’t change. Eui-jae was tormented by the urge to cover his face.

Lee Sa-young moved his lips.

“Stop… it. I didn’t… do this to fight.”

The skin that met the palm of his hand gripping his neck was cold. At the same time, he felt a faint pulse. Eui-jae glanced sideways. Should I break his legs first? Nam Woo-jin would fix his legs even if I broke them….

Lee Sa-young whispered.

“You have to… test everything. It’s the last chance.”

“……”

Lee Sa-young reached out and carefully covered the hand strangling his neck. It was cold. Eui-jae put a little more strength into the hand gripping his neck.

“What do you want?”

“Ah, what I… want?”

The muscles in his neck vibrated slightly. Lee Sa-young was smiling. Laughter burst out in small bursts between his light coughs. Once that laughter burst out, it didn’t stop for a long time. Lee Sa-young tickled the back of his hand with his finger.

“Let’s sleep together.”

“…What?”

Eui-jae doubted his ears. Did he just hear that right? But Lee Sa-young was staring up at Eui-jae with a smiling face. His long eyelashes fluttered. A dizzyingly sweet scent wafted.

“You… just confirmed it yourself.”

Lee Sa-young tapped his head with his finger. It was a rough action that showed no respect for his own body. Eui-jae stopped trying to snatch that hand. Lee Sa-young continued to speak slowly, regardless.

“Your dream and my dream are connected. Thanks to the watch.”

“……”

“Aren’t you curious? Things that only I know….”

The warden who had watched Doomsday for a long time. No one would know better than Lee Sa-young what Doomsday is, how it comes, and why they failed. It was a sweet offer.

Eui-jae met the purple eyes nestled between his disheveled hair. Both eyes were still fully capturing the other person. Without any emotion or personal opinion. Just reflecting. He gripped his neck harder, and a small groan escaped Lee Sa-young’s lips.

After a while, he loosened his grip slightly to give him some air, and a fit of coughing burst out. Feeling the muscles writhing under his hand, Eui-jae questioned him in a low voice.

“It would be over if you just told me. There’s no need to go through this annoying process.”

“Ah, that’s… no fun.”

“What is this… hey, you said it yourself. It’s the last chance.”

“I did….”

“If you miss this chance, everyone will die. You too, me too.”

“I know….”

“But is fun important right now?”

“What’s… not important?”

Lee Sa-young blinked slowly. Before he knew it, his purple eyes had faded to light purple. A pure white flame flickered deep in his pale eyes. Eui-jae stared at the flame as if possessed. Lee Sa-young muttered.

“I wandered alone for that long.”

“……”

“I’m finally feeling alive….”

Two black hands grabbed the hand that was wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Eui-jae suddenly came to his senses and widened his eyes. Lee Sa-young barely whispered in a suppressed voice.

“Can you strangle me a little more? This is nice….”

A smile appeared on his face, which had not shown any emotion.

A twisted smile. This crazy brat was genuinely enjoying it.

A chill ran down his spine. Feeling a chill down his spine, Eui-jae shook off his hand and shook it. Lee Sa-young smacked his lips as if he was disappointed. Eui-jae was horrified.

‘Is this crazy brat really crazy?’

Black fingers touched the back of his hand like spider legs. Eui-jae shuddered. Lee Sa-young burst out laughing.

“Isn’t it good for each other? Didn’t you want to strangle me?”

“Damn it, who do you think is a pervert!”

“Really? That’s too bad….”

Lee Sa-young stroked his neck. Cha Eui-jae’s handprints were clearly visible on his straight neck. Eui-jae swallowed hard.

This is screwed. Wasn’t there a meeting or something soon? Lee Sa-young shrugged.

“Weren’t you trying to dig up memories to get something….”

“……”

“Think about it.”

A black hand tickled his hand. Light purple eyes narrowed slightly.

“Anything is fine with me…. Hyung.”

And the moment Cha Eui-jae heard the word, Hyung….

Pow!

He couldn’t stand it and swung his fist.

Light purple eyes rolled back, and the body he was sitting on slumped. Eui-jae released his clenched fist, then put his hand on Lee Sa-young’s chest and gasped for breath. Fortunately, he seemed to have instinctively controlled his strength. His pulse was beating normally.

His hands trembled. Eui-jae wriggled his fingers for no reason. He could still clearly feel the sensation of the fingers tickling his skin.

‘Damn it, isn’t he a pervert?’

What? Sleep together? Strangle me? Is he really crazy? Did he go crazy after wandering for so long?

Eui-jae barely swallowed the scream that rose to his throat. His heart was racing as if he had run a very long distance. He couldn’t tell if it was because of anger, absurdity, or excitement.

‘Lee Sa-young is not in his right mind.’

At this point, he missed Sa-young. The Lee Sa-young he knew, who was sassy but had a cute side. Eui-jae lowered his head and put his forehead on his chest. The end of his voice trembled.

“Hey, hey, wake up, Lee Sa-young….”

“……”

“Damn it, why aren’t you here at times like this….”

“……”

“You’ve slept enough!”

It was the moment Eui-jae shouted. The body underneath him twitched. Uh, a small groan as well. Eui-jae raised his head sharply. Sa-young grabbed his throbbing head and blinked. His flamboyant face crumpled.

“What….”

Sa-young put his elbows on the floor and raised his upper body. That brought their faces closer.

“When did you wake up… why are you doing this, wait.”

Sa-young narrowed his eyes and examined Eui-jae’s face, then tilted his head. A hand reached out and covered Eui-jae’s chin and cheeks. Sa-young looked at the face he was holding from side to side and frowned.

“Why is your face so red…. Do you have a fever?”

“My face?”

“Ah, wait a minute….”

Sa-young paused and grabbed his head again. It was exactly near the temple that Eui-jae had hit. Eui-jae slyly turned his gaze away. He looked like a puppy who was doing something wrong and avoiding eye contact. Sa-young blinked.

“Hyung.”

“…Yeah.”

“Did you hit me?”

“……No.”

“Wait, …why is my neck like this….”

Sa-young grabbed his neck and cleared his throat. It was the same spot that Cha Eui-jae had strangled with all his might. Eui-jae turned his gaze even further and began to look almost behind him. Sa-young tilted his head to the side.

“Hyung.”

“…….”

“Did you know?”

Eui-jae turned his head sharply. Surprisingly, Sa-young looked embarrassed.

What did he know? That there was another Lee Sa-young inside him? Or was there something else he was hiding? He was just as confused, but he couldn’t miss the opportunity.

Eui-jae nodded. It was time to bring out the Hanover Soup Restaurant’s part-time skill after a long time.

“Yeah.”

Pretend you don’t know and agree. With this skill, most people would get caught up in the agreement and start rattling off information on their own. Sa-young narrowed his eyes for a moment, then lowered his eyelashes as if lost in thought.

“…Where did you hear that? I don’t even have a cell phone….”

Eui-jae crossed his arms and stared at Lee Sa-young. Sa-young, who was busily racking his brains, let out a short sigh.

“Ah….”

He ruffled his hair roughly.

“Damn it. I saw it in Ranker Chat. Ah….”

This guy, who wouldn’t have given a clue normally, was rattling on on his own. He must be out of his mind. It was a good thing he hit him in the head. Eui-jae snorted as if to be heard on purpose, then opened Ranker Chat for the first time in a long time. He skimmed through the piles of messages.

And what greeted him was….

:

:

[5] Gyu-Gyu: J-nim, check the chat~

[5] Gyu-Gyu: If you don’t show up, I’ll assume you’re really dating~

[8] The Artisan: Isn’t there more to say?

[8] The Artisan: You saw the picture too

[8] The Artisan: He was carrying it around like it was a sacred object [29] Mana Stone Seller: Huh, what’s going on again?

[8] The Artisan: We have a latecomer again

[8] The Artisan: Go read the article quickly [8] The Artisan: J and 240 are dating

What?

[11] Shield Guy: Sigh…

[11] Shield Guy: We don’t know anything either

[11] Shield Guy: I’ve unplugged the Guild phone line

[11] Shield Guy: Don’t contact us

[11] Shield Guy: I’m going into the Dungeon too

[6] Honeybee: Hey, answer me properly?

[6] Honeybee: What are you two really?

[6] Honeybee: Are you dating?

[6] Honeybee: Or are you two plotting something?

[11] Shield Guy: Shield Guy is unavailable.

[6] Honeybee: Self-imposed unavailability, are you kidding me?

[6] Honeybee: Hey, Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo, come out

[34] Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo: Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo is unavailable.

[8] The Artisan: That slyness is crazy

[6] Honeybee: Huh

[5] Gyu-Gyu: Kekekeke

[6] Honeybee: Why don’t you just say you’re dating too?

[11] Shield Guy: I have PTSD from the word dating, so please refrain from using it

[6] Honeybee: Ugh

Eui-jae grabbed Lee Sa-young’s collar, who was groping his neck. His eyes shone blue.

“What did you do?”