By Zephyria The group left the accommodation before sunrise the next day.
“Are you okay? You don’t lo, look good.”
Ki Jae-eon, who had finished preparing, worried about Kim Ju-won, who looked unusually gloomy. He heard him tossing and turning all night, so he must have had trouble sleeping. I understand. He must be nervous because he’s in a foreign country.
‘He barely ate breakfast.’
Knowing Kim Ju-won’s appetite, he was quite concerned.
“Uh, I’m okay.”
But the person himself acts like it’s nothing.
He keeps glancing at Ahn Seo-myeong strangely.
‘Did they fight? It wasn’t like that yesterday…’
Above all, Ahn Seo-myeong doesn’t seem to be particularly aware of Kim Ju-won. It just feels like Kim Ju-won is restless alone? Hmm, Ki Jae-eon, who was worried, decided to solve the requested [Mermaid River] first and then call Kim Ju-won to talk.
They started climbing the mountain to find the problematic [Mermaid River].
‘Ah, fuck. It’s so annoying.’
Kim Ju-won glanced at Ahn Seo-myeong, who was striding up the mountain path ahead of him. He’d said he often climbed mountains with his grandmother since he was young… As expected, an experienced person was different; he was walking along as if taking a stroll with his hands behind his back.
‘You smug bastard.’
Kim Ju-won’s expression turned sour.
‘Hyung, have you ever had a first love?’
After dropping such a huge bomb yesterday, how could he be so carefree?
He felt an unreasonable irritation. Some people couldn’t sleep all night because they were worried.
‘So, he (Ahn Seo-myeong) is having a one-sided love for him (Ki Jae-eon).’
Crazy. Kim Ju-won’s face turned pale. His younger brother, whom he had known for a long time, was a homo- no. Anyway, something like that! But do people usually, like, um? Readily say something like that?
‘Or did I misunderstand?’
But he said ‘first love,’ didn’t he?
‘Um… Is it just a metaphor?’
“-Ugh!”
Perhaps because of his random thoughts, he momentarily lost his footing. Irregularly placed stones and branches prevented him from keeping his balance, and his body tilted- leaned. Ah, damn it. He was screwed. Instinctively, he looked back at the cliff-like downhill path. He was definitely going to roll down.
‘The slope, fuck!’
He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the impending pain.
“-Huh, hah?”
He was able to save his life by a hair’s breadth.
“…You have to be careful.”
It was thanks to Ki Jae-eon grabbing his collar and supporting him.
“Uh… Ah. Th, thank you.”
Ki Jae-eon nodded with his characteristic shadowed expression, then suddenly pulled Kim Ju-won up. His body floated for a moment- before landing safely.
‘Wow, I almost died.’
Kim Ju-won gave an awkward smile and thanked him again.
“Wa, watch the ground carefully. If it’s difficult, fo, follow the path I stepped on.”
“Uh-huh……”
Watching the skinny back turning away without hesitation, Kim Ju-won swallowed hard.
‘Reflexes aside-.’
To lightly pull up an adult man, especially one in his late 180s, with just one arm? This was insane physical ability that could compete in the World Ironman Triathlon.
‘Come to think of it, I thought he was a track and field athlete back during the Five-Foot Specter incident.’
Kim Ju-won suddenly realized that Ki Jae-eon’s physical abilities were outstanding.
‘He just looks skinny… That guy is secretly strong, isn’t he?’
Once he thought that far, other aspects of Ki Jae-eon that he hadn’t been aware of stood out. For example, his broad back and shoulders, his low voice that was as good as his own, and the arm muscles that could easily lift a heavy body.
So, a human at an equal level who ‘didn’t need to be protected.’
‘But why did I think of that guy like Jo Eun-ha and the others?’
The ‘others’ in Jo Eun-ha ‘and the others’ referred to the group of women at the main office. That was because Kim Ju-won only cared for ‘women.’ Whether they were young or old, to him, women were cute and soft, and he couldn’t treat them carelessly. In other words, people in the category he had to protect.
Kim Ju-won’s expression became subtle.
‘Of course, I was rougher with him than I was with them, but I didn’t treat him like Gyeong-hak or Min-cheol.’
Really, why? He was a big and strong man no matter how you looked at it.
‘Is it because I think of him as a teacher? No. Even before that…….’
Could it be because of guilt? Ah, if that was the case, it made sense. He had committed so many sins against Ki Jae-eon.
‘Ugh, it’s all because of that Ahn Seo-myeong.’
Because of what he said yesterday, he was unnecessarily conscious of Ki Jae-eon.
‘Why a man, why a man…….’
A handsome man, no matter how you looked at it.
Ki Jae-eon, who was a man.
‘Ah, shit. But why do I have to think about this?’
Kim Ju-won shook his head, muttering, “Whatever-” He didn’t care whether Ahn Seo-myeong liked Ki Jae-eon or not. It wasn’t his life, it was his life.
It was when his various complicated thoughts were reaching their end point. At the same time as feeling an unknown, chilling sensation, the group’s steps came to a sudden halt.
What. Why aren’t they all going? With that question in mind, he cautiously approached Ki Jae-eon. Little Teacher? When he called out, he didn’t move and just stared ahead.
‘What is…….’
What caught his eye as he followed his gaze was a very solidly constructed Barrier.
It was even densely wrapped in multiple layers.
Whoever it was, they were disgustingly meticulous.
‘The technique itself is difficult.’
Just looking at how many times it was twisted made his head ache. But if he took the time to untangle it, it wasn’t at a level he couldn’t solve.
‘It’s just going to take some time, though?’
Still, what choice did he have? He had to untangle it to move forward.
“Little Teacher, I’ll do it.”
“……”
Just as Kim Ju-won was about to reach out his hand towards the Barrier, Suzuki, who had been quiet all along, flinched and shouted loudly, “
“<……It’s the Juttousa.>”
Suzuki took out a talisman and made a fierce expression.
“
Otsuka Tennoji.
An Exorcist from Chokaji Shrine.
He was always pushed back by [Suzuki Ryo] and held the title of eternal second place, but he was a true paragon of this era who placed great significance on saving people.
……He was.
Until he met the [Mermaid River], no, the [River of Immortality].
‘
Otsuka was meditating in front of the river. In any case, the foolish Suzuki Ryo and his guests would kneel before the Juttousa who would open a new era. Even if they somehow avoided the Juttousa, it would be difficult to break through this multi-layered Barrier easily.
‘
“
“<……!!>”
Otsuka’s eyes snapped open.
But he couldn’t bring himself to get up.
The energy pressing down on his shoulders from right behind him was unusual. It was an oppressive feeling, as if warning him not to move. Who the hell was it? Otsuka’s Adam’s apple bobbed with tension.
“<……Who are you?>”
“
The pronunciation was inaccurate. That meant he wasn’t Japanese in the first place.
‘
That meant Suzuki Ryo! That idiot was up to some trick again.
“
“
“
Otsuka calmly calmed his tense heart and smiled. Even the self-proclaimed mercenary behind him was nothing more than dust in front of this ‘River of Immortality.’
‘
There was no human who wasn’t interested in eternal life, so he would definitely feel the appeal.
Ah, the expression of Suzuki in despair was being drawn again!
‘
Any human became pathetic in the face of death. Since they were born as humans, the obsession with life was like an instinct!
Otsuka reached out and pointed to the river.
“
“<…….>”
“
“
“
Otsuka’s expression looked like a child lost in fantasy.
“<……Eternal life.>”
“”
Now this man would betray Suzuki and go to the river-.
“
Huh? Otsuka’s expression changed ambiguously.
That was because he had just heard a sneering sound from behind him.
“
It was clear. It wasn’t a laugh of joy. It was a laugh that seemed to mock a fool.
“
The voice that slowly asked back was somehow strangely humid and sticky.
Otsuka gritted his teeth, enduring the goosebumps rising on his skin, and turned his head. He had no intention of forgiving the man who was further insulting the ‘River of Immortality.’
But.
“
The moment he made eye contact, he almost stopped breathing. In the face blackened by the backlight, the only thing that gleamed were the red, bloodshot eyes- that gaze, like a snake, wrapped around Otsuka.
“
You can only know that life was good after you die, right? He saw the corner of the man’s mouth twisting up. Then, would you like to die now? After a mumbling like a soliloquy, Otsuka’s body fell to the floor with a thud! It was a spiritual power he had never experienced before. The force that crushed his limbs was so strong that it was hard to just endure it.
“
There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just jump into the river.
He didn’t know why, but he could tell.
That the man was very angry.