By Zephyria The Scheduled End
Cha Eui-jae opened his eyes. Something damp and heavy covered his throbbing eyes. It felt like a wet towel. Hadn’t this happened recently? Eui-jae blinked several times under the towel. Never mind the fact that his whole body ached as if he’d been beaten.
“…Where am I? Here.”
He was sure he had collapsed in the library, but now he was lying alone on what seemed like a bed. Eui-jae fiddled with the soft, heavy blanket, lost in thought. It didn’t seem like the Seowon Guild infirmary. He couldn’t smell disinfectant, nor feel the wind coming through the roughly repaired cracks in the wall. The blanket was also softer, and familiar.
Eui-jae removed the damp towel. He blinked. It was still dark. The only red number he could see had plummeted to 25 hours.
‘Did I lose almost a day…?’
He couldn’t waste any more time. Just as he was about to get up, a chilling voice echoed.
“…Looks like you’re awake?”
Eui-jae trembled and hunched his shoulders. A low sigh resounded. He could clearly sense displeasure. Without realizing it, he held his breath and cautiously observed. A beat later, his mind started working.
‘…Is that Lee Sa-young?’
Footsteps echoed. It seemed he was making the sound on purpose. The footsteps stopped near the bed. The chilling voice asked.
“Does it hurt? Your hand.”
“…Hand?”
Eui-jae moved his fingers. Something was tightly wrapped around them. A low voice muttered.
“I just applied medicine and bandaged it. Elixir can’t fix broken nails.”
“Ah.”
Only then did he feel a burning pain in his fingertips. It seemed to have been pushed to the back burner because of the intense pain he felt throughout his body. Eui-jae groped at his fingers and replied.
“…It’s bearable.”
“Tell me if it hurts too much. I have painkillers.”
“Okay.”
He forced out a voice that wouldn’t come out.
“Where… is this?”
“Home.”
“Home?”
“The home we lived in in this world.”
Was it the place he saw in the memories of the crazy Lee Sa-young? Eui-jae tilted his head, puzzled. He couldn’t see, so he had no basis for judgment.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Uh, not really…”
“Eat anyway. You need to take your medicine.”
Something cold shot out. He reflexively leaned back to avoid it, but the object stubbornly stayed in place. Eui-jae cautiously reached out and groped for it. It was a hand wearing a leather glove. The owner of the hand whispered.
“Grab on and get up.”
“No, you don’t have to hold me. I can walk on my own.”
“Why, so you can just walk around and bump into things? You don’t even know the layout of the house…”
The chilling voice sneered. Okay, he knew he couldn’t see. Of course he would. Eui-jae quickly racked his brain. Then, does he know I’m Mutating? Before he could continue his thoughts, the sinister voice urged him.
“Grab on, even if you’re scared.”
Every time he heard the voice, he felt like his hair was standing on end. Eui-jae barely swallowed and grabbed his hand, then carefully got up. His toes curled as he stepped on the cold wooden floor. Sa-young weakly pulled his hand as if telling him to follow. Eui-jae followed awkwardly, rolling his eyes.
‘It feels like I’m being dragged away…’
Was it because he couldn’t see, or because of the texture of the gloves? The being holding his hand felt like it wasn’t human. Something, something close to a monster, was leading him.
Eui-jae now understood why civilians and low-ranking Hunters didn’t easily approach Lee Sa-young. He was Poison, but he was also an alien existence in himself. An existence that crushed and pressured people just by being there.
Eui-jae was instinctively afraid. Of the being in front of him. He tried to hide his trembling. Even though he knew it was futile.
The sound of his rapidly beating heart, his slightly labored breathing, his eyes wandering anxiously in the air, the constant swallowing, the cold sweat, the trembling hands and body. Lee Sa-young would know everything. Yet he didn’t say a word.
That made Eui-jae even more afraid.
But he had to endure it. Eui-jae repeated to himself. Lee Sa-young isn’t scary. Lee Sa-young is… Eui-jae cleared his throat and asked, pretending to be nonchalant.
“How did the job go? The one Jung-bin called about.”
“Ah… you’re curious about that even in this situation?”
Lee Sa-young sneered.
“I told him I couldn’t go. Of course.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Where would I go? Some user is staggering on the floor because I took my eyes off him for a second.”
He didn’t get his money’s worth. A gloved finger brushed Eui-jae’s palm.
“I told Honeybee to go instead.”
“…Did she go?”
“She grumbled and went because you collapsed.”
Well, Honeybee is diligent. The thought of her snapping at Sa-young and stepping up confidently made his fear subside a little. The user in front of him stopped. A bitter smell wafted. The smell of death. The back of his neck turned cold.
“Sit here.”
The sound of a chair being pulled out echoed. A hand guided him. Eui-jae groped and sat down on the chair. The owner of the hand stood behind Eui-jae, holding the back of the chair with both hands.
“……”
Eui-jae swallowed hard. He could feel it. A suspicious gaze was scanning his entire body. He felt like he was being gouged with something sharp wherever the gaze touched. It felt like he was being exposed to the bottom. Eui-jae wiped his sweaty hands on his pants.
Creak.
The presence behind him pushed the chair in and moved away. Eui-jae took a breath, suppressing the sound as much as possible. It was definitely Lee Sa-young who was taking care of him. But was it because he couldn’t see? Was it because he had become a civilian? It felt like…
He was with a monster.
Clink, a bowl was placed down. He could smell a savory aroma and feel a warm temperature.
‘…Is it porridge?’
Something cold and long touched Eui-jae’s fingertips. It seemed he had been given a spoon. Eui-jae grabbed the spoon.
“……”
He wasn’t hungry at all. The presence he felt in front of him was too immense. From the moment he opened his eyes, his survival instinct was overriding any other desire. There was no way he could feel hungry in this situation.
But Eui-jae moved his hand. He wrapped one hand around the bowl and scooped up the contents with the spoon in his other hand. Then he forced it into his mouth. He couldn’t taste anything. He only felt the heat. Eui-jae barely swallowed the porridge.
“……”
Eui-jae fiddled with the bowl and muttered.
“Did you buy it?”
“I wanted to. If there were any porridge shops left.”
“…Did you make it yourself?”
“I asked someone else to. If I made it…”
He trailed off. Eui-jae knew what he was going to say, so he didn’t urge him to say more. Instead, he took a large spoonful and shoved it into his mouth.
How much had he eaten? The spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. Only then did Eui-jae put down the spoon. He didn’t feel good, as he had forced himself to eat. But Eui-jae forced a smile.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“……”
There was no reply. The pressure was still there, though. After a while, a hand took away the bowl and spoon and placed something like a glass near his hand. Eui-jae groped for the glass and took a sip. It was cool water. He let out a small sigh and leaned back against the back of the chair. It felt like he was walking on a tightrope.
Swish…
He could hear the sound of water. Eui-jae covered his mouth and coughed softly. Cough.
At that moment,
Crash— a bowl shattered. Eui-jae was startled and tried to get up. But a large hand grabbed his shoulder and pressed down.
“Ah…!”
“Don’t get up.”
“Hey, wait, it hurts…”
“Hand.”
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden!”
“Give me your hand!”
He snapped in a loud voice. A large hand snatched the hand that Eui-jae had been covering his mouth with. At the same time, Eui-jae realized.
‘He knows.’
Lee Sa-young knew. That Cha Eui-jae was Mutating. He felt a chill run down his spine. After a while, the hand that had been holding his shoulder fell away. Eui-jae hurriedly got up and grabbed the falling hand.
“Hey, wait!”
“Let go.”
“That was just a coughing fit. It’s not like that…”
“Let go.”
A sharp voice was mixed with gasps. Amidst the loud sound of water, Eui-jae realized the change in his breathing. It was a subtle change that he could recognize because he had been focusing on him for survival.
Eui-jae carefully opened his mouth.
“You…”
“……”
“Are you crying?”