By Zephyria “Have you been waiting, Hyung?”
A languid and serene voice. It was Lee Sa-young.
Eui-jae froze, standing beside the bed. The black shadow, backlit, rustled as it took off its coat. Hanging the coat on a hanger and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he seemed quite accustomed to the routine.
“Today… I didn’t have much to do, so I came early.”
Eui-jae carefully observed his hands. The gloves….
He was only wearing one.
Good, at least he came to the right place. He let out a small sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Lee Sa-young approached the bed and looked down at the bulging blanket. The crimson bedroom light cast gloomy shadows on his flamboyant face. Suddenly, Eui-jae thought. Come to think of it.
‘I thought Sa-young was lying down.’
If Lee Sa-young is here.
‘…Who is in the blanket?’
The question was quickly resolved. The gloved hand carefully pulled back the blanket. Eui-jae soon inhaled sharply.
It was ‘Cha Eui-jae.’
“…What is this?”
Eui-jae couldn’t help but blurt out the question. The ‘Cha Eui-jae’ on the bed was lying with both hands gathered on his chest. Like a corpse in a coffin. From the left side of his head to his left eye, he was tightly wrapped in white bandages, and white hair was naturally scattered on the pillow.
This was himself. The shell left behind by Cha Eui-jae, who had escaped from the Memorial Dungeon, devoid of consciousness.
Looking at his own figure from a third-person perspective was, more than he expected….
‘It feels really strange.’
Eui-jae rubbed his chin. Was it because he was lying down asleep? The more he looked, the stranger it felt. Perhaps it was a natural sense of alienation. Ordinary people never get to see themselves asleep.
But,
‘…In the end, he’s just put a corpse on the bed.’
This shell is a corpse.
“Hmm, you’ve been well.”
At the very affectionate voice, Eui-jae abruptly raised his head. Through the flickering light, he saw the corners of his lips subtly lifted. Lee Sa-young was smiling as he looked at the shell. The back of his neck grew chillingly cold.
‘Is this guy crazy?’
Talking to a corpse? Smiling at a corpse? Eui-jae circled the bed and approached Lee Sa-young. Lee Sa-young stood askew, his ungloved hand in his pants pocket. He spoke softly. To the corpse, no, the shell.
“Nothing much happened today. …And nothing much will happen in the future either.”
“……”
“That’s a relief. Because all you have to do is wait.”
“……”
“It’s okay. I’m good at waiting.”
“What do you mean, a relief!”
Unable to contain his anger, Eui-jae struck Lee Sa-young’s back. The translucent hand passed right through Lee Sa-young’s back and came out through his chest. Nothing goes the way I want!
Whether the living Eui-jae was huffing and puffing or not, Lee Sa-young focused on the shell lying on the bed.
“Let’s see….”
The hand wearing the black leather glove caressed the white hair and cheek scattered on the pillow. It was a careful touch, as if handling something precious. Lee Sa-young sighed softly and straightened his back.
“Tsk, is it already time to replace it….”
Sa-young opened the drawer next to the bed. Something dull collided, making a clattering sound. Eui-jae also leaned in to check the contents of the drawer. The drawer was full of Preservation Stones. Eui-jae stared at Sa-young’s back as he checked the Preservation Stones one by one, and muttered.
“…Crazy bastard.”
It was hard to attribute this to a will to preserve. It was a little too much to call it a will….
‘…Isn’t this a scary level?’
But that was only for a moment, as Eui-jae knelt down next to Sa-young, who was rummaging through the drawer. Sa-young was picking out the broken Preservation Stones with a very serious face. Eui-jae rested his chin on his hand.
The Cha Eui-jae of the first world had asked Hong Ye-seong to create several Memorial Dungeons. Pressing in precious memories.
To endure.
This must be Lee Sa-young’s own way. A way to endure the long time. No, the expression struggling would be more appropriate.
Eui-jae looked at Sa-young. His heart ached. The tip of his nose kept tingling. He grumbled for no reason.
“Hey, you… you’re enduring with something like this.”
His mouth felt bitter. This appearance was far from normal. Lee Sa-young’s words that he was okay were all lies. Eui-jae was certain. If Cha Eui-jae isn’t by his side, Lee Sa-young will break. Whether he breaks at the hands of others, or he breaks himself.
“You’re good at waiting, what nonsense….”
And the broken parts will never be completely fixed. Even if all the cracked parts are glued together, the broken marks will remain. Just like Cha Eui-jae.
Sa-young, who had been picking out Preservation Stones for a while, sighed softly. And then, he put his forehead on the hand holding the intact Preservation Stone and closed his eyes. It looked like he was praying, or like he was tired and just closing his eyes for a moment. A trembling breath escaped from his plump lips.
“…It’s okay.”
Eui-jae captured all of that in his eyes.
The image of him struggling in a test tube filled with an unknown liquid came to mind. His vision blurred. He took off his black mask and roughly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve.
At that moment, he felt a sensation of being sucked into somewhere from his toes. Eui-jae hurriedly got up and looked at his feet. His already translucent feet and ankles were turning transparent.
“…J! Can’t maintain… anymore… Sorry….”
Ga-eul’s voice was heard sporadically from afar. Already? His gaze, which had been darting around, stopped in front of Sa-young, who still had his eyes closed. Eui-jae took a short, deep breath, then spread his arms wide. And he hugged his broad shoulders and back from behind. To be exact, he put his body in a position where it would touch if he hugged him roughly. Trying to maintain an awkward posture without the sensation of hugging, so that his body wouldn’t pass through, made his muscles stiff.
‘Nothing is easy, damn it.’
Eui-jae glanced down. His waist was already transparent. Eui-jae cleared his throat and whispered in Sa-young’s ear.
“This time, really only wait a little bit.”
“……”
“If you shake off my hand again… then you’re dead and I’m alive, got it?”
Sa-young abruptly raised his head. His bewildered purple gaze was fixed directly on Eui-jae’s face. Eui-jae didn’t miss the opportunity and raised his fist high. And quickly threw it out. Whoosh! The fist cut through the air. Sa-young instinctively closed his eyes.
But,
Chu.
“…Huh?”
Sa-young’s eyes widened. Good, Eui-jae retracted his fist that had cut through the air with a satisfied face. His fist was already turning transparent. After all, Lee Sa-young was the cutest with that dumbfounded face.
Eui-jae smiled crookedly.
“Are you stupid? You should wait for Hyung, not some shell like that.”
“……”
“I’ll be back.”
With those last words, his vision was filled with countless colors. Did he hear me? I don’t know. The kaleidoscope pattern changed and changed without stopping. Eui-jae entrusted his body to the colorful colors and closed his eyes.
“…J! Wake up!”
…Student Ga-eul’s voice was heard clearly. He slowly opened his eyes. A white ceiling was visible. Eui-jae raised his upper body and looked around. Ga-eul, whose complexion was pale, looked over Eui-jae here and there, then let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness…. I’m sorry, I wanted to maintain it longer… but, this is my best….”
Ga-eul’s right hand was trembling so pitifully. When Eui-jae’s gaze reached her, Ga-eul hid her hand behind her back. Her forehead and neck were soaked with cold sweat. It seemed she had consumed more energy than he thought. Eui-jae urgently asked.
“Are you okay? Shouldn’t you go to the Doctor?”
“Ah, no! I’m okay! It’s my first time doing it, so I used a little more strength than I thought…. Yes. I’ll be fine if I rest a bit. Really.”
Ga-eul waved her hands. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and asked.
“So, did you see Lee Sa-young okay?”
“Ah…. Yes, I saw him properly.”
“Really? He didn’t fall into a strange place, did he?”
“Yes, it was the Lee Sa-young we know. It’s thanks to Student Ga-eul. Thank you.”
“Hehe…. That’s a relief.”
Ga-eul smiled bashfully and asked again.
“So, by any chance…. Was Lee Sa-young…. okay?”
It was a vague question, but Eui-jae understood the intention of the question. Ga-eul and Honeybee must have watched Lee Sa-young, who was clearly not in his right mind. Eui-jae scratched his head.
“…Has he been like that the whole time? He.”
Ga-eul rolled her eyes with a troubled face.
“Um, yes…. While Honeybee was there, she kind of… restrained him. But now both me and Honeybee Unnie have come out… so I’ve been worried.”
“…He’ll probably be okay.”
Eui-jae rested his chin on his hand while sitting, recalling the round, purple eyes. He gnashed his teeth.
“But we can’t leave him like that for too long.”
“I agree with that too. Um, would you like to go over there one more time? When, when my condition gets a little better.”
“It seems like it’s consuming a lot of energy, don’t push yourself. There are other ways too.”
“No. I can handle this much….”
Eui-jae shook his head firmly, then suddenly looked at the window as if possessed. Something white and round was curled up by the window where the curtains were fluttering. A smooth, glossy body and eyes like black beans….
“Cluck!”
It was Cluck.
Cluck waddled over and pecked Eui-jae’s arm with its beak. It was wearing something like paper around its neck like a scarf. Eui-jae untied the paper and unfolded it. It was a note written in scribbled handwriting.
Nam Woo-jin wants to meet you! Something’s a mess, but I don’t know the details, so I just listened roughly and don’t remember! He seemed urgent, so I hope you go quickly!
-From the great Hong Ye-seong, who took on the role of contact!
P.S.! Come play at my house with fried chicken too! I’m bored.