By Zephyria The new residence in Jaegang District was pitch black once the lights were off.
The small room on the inner side, where even faint moonlight couldn’t penetrate, was so quiet at midnight that it felt like a space completely isolated from the world.
Mu-hae called this space not a home, but an accommodation. As if it were just a place to pass through, he didn’t move many of his belongings.
However, after spending their first night in Jaegang District, a small night light appeared in their accommodation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to see an inch in front of them, day or night.
Of course, this wasn’t an issue for Joo-oh. Joo-oh could clearly distinguish objects even in the dark.
He detected and recognized every sound, from the creaking of the old building to the dripping of water from the makeshift toilet.
So, sometimes when Mu-hae turned off the night light and fell asleep, he would stare at him without blinking an eye.
At other times, such intense staring would cause Mu-hae’s eyebrows to twitch and his fine hairs to stand on end, but in the dark, he didn’t seem to notice even after an hour or two of being watched.
Well, he would probably get a strange feeling. Jin Mu-hae had an unusually good sense. Still, he usually didn’t notice that the man in front of him was watching him the whole time.
Joo-oh was very satisfied with that. It was the first time since taking human form that he could watch him all night long.
It felt like a reward given for the progress of the story. That was, until he woke up from a strange dream.
“……!”
Joo-oh, who had been twitching his fingertips, suddenly opened his eyes at dawn. In the pitch-black darkness, his even darker pupils seemed to devour his irises.
His heart was pounding, and his mind felt frozen. Joo-oh stiffened, trembling his hands finely, without even breathing.
He had a dream. A very strange and bizarre dream. Joo-oh was sitting in front of a square monitor.
Darkness surrounded him. Only the monitor emitted flickering light. There were no sounds around him. No signs of people at all.
The only sound was the whirring of the machine. Just the monitor.
A terribly empty feeling pierced his heart. A suffocating feeling as if his breath was being held back, thirst, and… resignation.
In the darkness where he couldn’t even trust his five senses, not knowing if he was breathing or if he was just hallucinating instead of having his eyes open, Joo-oh sat in the same spot for a very long time.
Then, the world he opened his eyes to was also dark. His vision gradually returned, but it was still dark.
“Jin, Jin Mu-hae…….”
Joo-oh unconsciously called out to Mu-hae, moving his stiff arm.
Then, he felt a warm mass.
The flesh that touched his arm was throbbing slowly, thump, thump. Jin Mu-hae. It was Jin Mu-hae.
The moment he realized that, Joo-oh’s stiff body melted away. Only then did his mind start to turn little by little.
Joo-oh was lying in the accommodation in Jaegang District. Lying in the same bed as Jin Mu-hae, he had fallen asleep next to him while he was sleeping.
“Heu-eung…….”
The trembling in his hand gradually stopped. Joo-oh wriggled his body and moved closer to Mu-hae.
The warmth of the human he felt as he snuggled into his arms, the soft breathing. And Jin Mu-hae’s scent.
The emptiness that felt like falling into the abyss gradually dissipated. Joo-oh focused on his five senses, suppressing his still trembling eyes.
He wanted to feel with all his might that Jin Mu-hae was lying next to him.
[Quest]
Main Quest
Tutorial (Completed)
Chapter 1 (Completed)
Chapter 2
☞ The Person in Charge of the Bygone Reform (In Progress)
Scheduled Work √
DIY 777 √
Blue not Vlue √
Planned Hero √
Sewer Exploration
It was the first time he had remembered the contents of a dream. Joo-oh finally realized where that feeling, which he had been vaguely avoiding, originated from.
He didn’t know what was bad about the monitor shining in the dark. But it was definitely a nightmare. A very, very chilling one that he didn’t want to go back to…….
“Sleep.”
While staring blankly at the air with the system window open, a hand suddenly came over his head.
Mu-hae, who had woken up from Joo-oh’s movements, was tapping his head without even opening his eyes.
The touch, whether it was stroking or patting, was pleasing. Even though he knew Mu-hae couldn’t see him, Joo-oh nodded his head and reached out his arm.
He must have known that he was hugging his body, but he didn’t say anything. Joo-oh closed his eyes contentedly and took a deep breath.
He liked Jin Mu-hae so much.
He wanted to be with him forever.
When the environment changes, life also moves along. Jin Mu-hae, who was settling in Jaegang District for the first time in his life, faced an opportunity that he would have welcomed more than anything in the past.
The well-intentioned favors sent to the commendable and pitiful young man. Leaving aside the idiots who sent him clothes they had worn, as if they thought he was a beggar, the job offers were quite sweet acts of charity.
Of course, he didn’t accept them. Factory work was not suitable for Mu-hae.
There was no such thing as suitability when it came to making a living, but since the restoration of the Return flight was the main goal, he couldn’t give up the mercenary work that allowed him to move around freely.
In the meantime, Mu-hae thoroughly searched the underground hideout and touched not only the monitor panel but also all kinds of devices.
Perhaps because they had been neglected for too long, or because someone had already taken action, many of the functions seemed to be lost. It was a pity.
Still, it was much better to be able to view what he had always had to secretly look at with a hologram on his Watch on a large screen.
He also managed to find someone’s conversation records, which seemed to have been erased, in a corner of the storage device.
Mu-hae sat in an armchair and skimmed through their conversations, which were close to small talk, whenever he had time.
▒▨▒▒ : I clearly said I needed ▒▒ by this weekend
▒▨▒▒ : How come no one is even thinking of doing it?
▨▒ : Rebuttal – I’m tired from my business trip
▒▨▒▒ : Counter-rebuttal – As if only he went on a business trip
▧▧▒ : Theory – Both of you need to grow up
▒▨▒▒ : Not funny
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▨▒▒ : You’re always taking ▨▒’s side
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▨▒ : That’s what I’m saying
…
…
▨▒ : ▒▒▒▒ seems to be in very bad shape
▨▒ : It seems better to keep a distance for the time being
▒▨▒▒ : It’s not easy, even for them
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▨▒▒ : I agree
▧▧▒ : My biological reaction research is all there
▧▧▒ : Updates are slow
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▨▒▒ : It’s better to do that
…
…
▒▨▒▒ : While I was fixing the air conditioner
▒▨▒▒ : Everyone was enjoying iced drinks at the cafe
▒▨▒▒ : I was sweating and breathing in the stagnant air in the basement all alone
▒▨▒▒ : I don’t think this is right
▒▨▒▒ : I don’t
▧▧▒ : There’s no need for everyone to be hot
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▧▧▒ : That’s right
▒▨▒▒ : That’s not right
▨▒ : Update the report, please
▨▒ : If you’re late again this time, I’ll lock you in a room with the air conditioner off
▒▨▒▒ : Trash
…
…
▨▒ : ▒▒▒▒ Please reply to the contact
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▧▧▒ : It seems like there’s been some progress this time
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▧▧▒ : Definitely. Progress is faster than expected
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▨▒ : You check on them. You’re better than me anyway.
▒▒▒▒▒▒
▨▒ : Thank you
…
…
Bright, intelligent, and confident conversations, unaware of what might happen in the future…….
Even though the titles were all blocked out, Jin Mu-hae could vaguely sense that one of them was his father.
It was just a guess, but if so, one would be Teacher Jung, and the other would be CEO Gil, wouldn’t it?
As he tried to fit their images together, Mu-hae felt strangely happy and terribly awkward.
He had never seen CEO Gil, who was so full of life, and his father’s appearance even once. He felt a strange emotion, as if he had rummaged through someone else’s diary.
“Jin Mu-hae. Aren’t you sleeping?”
“Not yet. Go up first if you want.”
“Hmm. Then I’ll stay here too.”
The noteworthy point was that there was someone else besides them here. A mysterious being whose title and even the conversation itself had been completely erased.
At first, Mu-hae didn’t even realize that it was a deleted conversation. Only when the conversation kept floating after the long erased marks did he realize that someone’s agreement or opinion must have been included in this place.
Jin Mu-hae frowned repeatedly and recalled his father’s friends who remained on Starlight Road. Besides Teacher Jung and CEO Gil, who else was there?
No, in every moment he remembered, his father always had only them. Who could it be? Who was at the core of the Return flight and disappeared as if they had been washed away?
Perhaps this person had received a more severe punishment than his father. So they no longer existed in this world…….
“But, Jin Mu-hae. I have to call Gu-reum early tomorrow morning.”
Cutting off the tangled thoughts like a skein of yarn, a pleasant voice intervened.
Mu-hae raised his eyebrows as a warning, then sighed and got up.
That’s right. As Joo-oh said, he had decided to contact Gu-reum before dawn. If he delayed any longer, he would face her without even getting a few hours of sleep.
To be fully alert in front of Gu-reum, it would be better to rest for today. Mu-hae cracked his neck and made a bone-cracking sound, then gestured towards the entrance.
“Let’s go. Stop eating jerky and get up.”
“I didn’t eat any.”
After moving his jaw diligently, Joo-oh told a lie that wouldn’t be believed.
He hadn’t been buying a lot of things to eat lately, so the only food he could have been keeping for so long was jerky.
Mu-hae recalled the meat skewers that kept appearing grotesquely and quickly erased them from his mind.
If they were still left, they couldn’t be in good condition. If they reappeared, he would have to add salt and perform an exorcism.