286 – HGL 286

286

Cold air seeped in through the cracks in the makeshift plank wall. Inside the hospital room that Sa-young had vigorously destroyed and diligently repaired, the two were lying on the cramped hospital bed. To be precise, Eui-jae was being unilaterally embraced by Sa-young. For about half a day!

With every breath, he could feel the rise and fall of a chest against his back. Eui-jae bit the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes. He had clearly come to rest for a moment, but he couldn’t even shut his eyes, let alone sleep.

‘This is freaking uncomfortable….’

His unnecessarily sharp senses were clearly aware of the presence behind him. The lukewarm body temperature, the rustling sounds, even the slightest movement of muscles. Eui-jae tried to remove the arms and legs wrapped around his waist and legs, but gave up. He could remove them, but he was sure he would break something while wrestling. Like the bed, for example.

It seemed Lee Sa-young had calculated the time left until his death. As the time decreased, the frequency and duration of sticking close to him increased. Eui-jae couldn’t push Sa-young away. It was also true that he felt reassured whenever he felt Sa-young’s warmth. Moreover, the longer he spent with him, the more noticeably the Synchronization Rate dropped.

Sa-young, who was rubbing his lips and the tip of his nose against the back of his neck, grumbled.

“Stop moving so much.”

“That’s what I want to say. Hey…. Do you want to do this in such a cramped place?”

“I’m doing this because it’s a cramped place…. You’re being so docile.”

Sa-young bared his teeth on his neck. Seriously. Eui-jae, who flinched, kicked Sa-young’s ankle with his heel. Ouch. A small whine was heard.

After the bold declaration to die in front of him, Sa-young never took his eyes off Eui-jae for a moment. Not just his eyes, but his body too. He followed Eui-jae everywhere he went. Not only when eating, but even during these short moments of rest.

Thanks to that, Eui-jae was….

‘That bastard…. He’s tougher than a kraken’s sucker.’

It was hell.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if he was found out about his vision problems at any moment. In fact, it was close to a miracle that he had lasted this long. To be honest….

‘It’s too late.’

It had already been several days. It was too late to say it now, he feared the aftermath. He would be condemned with various words, such as why he didn’t say it right away, and whether he was in his right mind, and he would be imprisoned under the guise of protection. He probably wouldn’t even be able to walk on his own two feet. Lee Sa-young would carry him around. He refused to do such a thing.

‘It’s better to endure for two more days.’

Because it would be resolved in 48 hours, whether he liked it or not. Eui-jae lightly tapped the hand wrapped around his waist.

“I’m wide awake now, so move. I’m going to work.”

“Sleep more…. I’ve already told Jung-bin.”

“Told him what?”

“That Hyung is taking a day off today.”

“What? Who decided that?”

“I did.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Eui-jae kicked off the thin blanket and jumped up. Sa-young, who had been wrapping his arms and legs around Eui-jae’s body, was dragged along with him. Sa-young swept back his disheveled hair and grumbled.

“You just can’t stay still….”

“A young punk who doesn’t know the value of time, huh.”

“Hyung is young too.”

“Shut up.”

Eui-jae wandered around the Seowon Guild with nothing to do. With Sa-young trailing behind him. What was absurd was that everyone who saw them just passed by as if it were natural. As if it were a common sight. Even Student Ga-eul, who passed by, said with a laugh.

“You two are really close!”

This?

Eui-jae glanced back. He was always disappointed that he couldn’t see Sa-young’s expression. He filled the void with imagination. Well, he was probably making a triumphant face, as if to say, ‘Look at that.’ At that moment, Jung-bin’s voice was heard from behind.

“Lee Sa-young, can I have a word with you for a moment?”

“What’s the matter?”

“A Rift has been created, but we don’t have enough manpower. Can you go?”

Eui-jae pointed at himself.

“I can go.”

“No.”

“No.”

Jung-bin and Sa-young refused at the same time. Jung-bin cleared his throat.

“Rest a little more. I heard you’re not feeling well.”

“No, I’m fine with this much….”

“Haven’t you been clearing Rifts and Monsters alone for the past few days? You’ve done enough work. You can rest a little.”

“That’s right. I can go alone. What’s the location?”

“If you come to the office, I’ll give you more detailed information.”

“Okay.”

A hand wearing a leather glove lightly touched Eui-jae’s arm. He whispered in a low voice.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay, see you later.”

The presence of Sa-young and Jung-bin faded away. Eui-jae stared in the direction where their presence had disappeared, then scratched his head. Strangely, he felt empty.

‘It’s funny that I’m like this just because I’m separated from Lee Sa-young….’

Being alone is lonely. Especially in the face of death.

He started walking aimlessly. Without a destination, wherever his feet led him.

At that moment.

[Synchronization System error cause isolated and confirmed.]

[Re-measuring Synchronization Rate!]

A pure white System Window appeared in the darkness. As if he had been waiting for this moment.

Eui-jae widened his eyes. Before he had time to understand the System’s message, pure white windows appeared one after another.

[Synchronization Rate is increasing.]

[Synchronization Rate is increasing.]

[Synchronization Rate is increasing.]

:

:

:

[Re-measuring Synchronization Rate….]

Thump. Suddenly, he became short of breath. Ah, damn it. Eui-jae grabbed his constricted throat. No matter how hard he gasped, his breath, once quickened, did not calm down easily. He waved his arms in the air and barely grabbed a bookshelf. But perhaps because he couldn’t control his strength.

Crack! The bookshelf he grabbed was torn apart like paper. Books crashed down. Eui-jae gritted his teeth and bent over. His vision spun. The sound of his heartbeat swallowed all other sounds. Cold sweat gathered on his temples and neck. His mouth filled with sour liquid. He collapsed on the floor where the books had fallen and buried his head. Eui-jae hurriedly took off his mask. And started to gag.

“Ugh…!”

Only bitter liquid came out. Eui-jae rubbed his forehead against the floor and panted. He scratched the floor with his fingertips. No matter what he did, the stuffiness didn’t go away. Tears welled up in his eyes. The tip of his nose stung. His body bumped into things everywhere he thrashed, but he didn’t feel the pain.

Once again, a pure white window appeared in his dark vision.

[Re-measurement complete.]

[Current Synchronization Rate….]

The strength drained from his fingertips, leaving long handprints on the floor. Eui-jae curled up into a ball. Slowly, terrible pain came. His burning forehead, his fingertips that had scratched the floor, his body that had bumped into the fallen books and bookshelf, his throat that was sore from stomach acid. He had no strength in his whole body. Eui-jae blinked his eyes with difficulty. The System Window appeared blurred through his wet eyelids.

[100%]

Cough, a cough burst out. Eui-jae covered his mouth. An unknown liquid soaked his fist. It didn’t taste like blood.

The floor against his cheek vibrated. Footsteps began to approach. A huge sense of pressure washed over him like a tsunami. He tried to gather all his strength to escape, but he couldn’t put strength into his legs. Eventually, he supported himself on the floor and began to crawl.

He had to escape.

Where to?

All around was darkness. Eui-jae blindly moved forward and bumped his forehead into something. A tingling pain spread. No matter how much he looked around, he couldn’t see anything. A wave of anxiety surged. Eui-jae covered his forehead and collapsed. Damn it. His body trembled against his will. Eui-jae slammed his head against the floor.

Something scary was approaching.

And then.

“…Hyung?”

The footsteps stopped.

The moment he heard the voice, his body jumped. Eui-jae struggled to overcome the pressure crushing his entire body. His body kept trembling. He slowly raised his head and stared in the direction of the voice. He couldn’t see anything. Eui-jae groped the air with his gaze.

“…….”

The voice was no longer heard. Eui-jae slowly blinked his eyes and moved his lips with difficulty.

“…Lee Sa-young?”

“…….”

He was about to ask if he was there, but he closed his mouth. The last remaining reason warned him to quickly turn his gaze away. Don’t get caught. Don’t show your weakness. But the moment the footsteps approached again, even the last remaining reason disappeared like being washed away by a wave.

“…Sa-young-ah.”

His voice trembled terribly. Eui-jae reached out towards the direction where Sa-young seemed to be. He couldn’t grab anything.

However, soon a hand reaching out from the side grabbed Eui-jae’s hand. The pressure crushing his entire body intensified. Along with it came a pain that felt like his hand would be crushed. His mind went blank. Eui-jae couldn’t continue speaking and closed his eyes.

Lee Sa-young took the strength out of his body. The limp body in his arms was a mess. Reddish, wet cheeks, a forehead with a hint of blood, hair and body soaked with cold sweat. More than anything….

Sa-young carefully unfolded the hand that had been covering Eui-jae’s hand. On the black glove….

“…….”

There was blood and a translucent white liquid.