By Zephyria Joo-oh was truly unique. Mu-hae knew he was strange from their very first encounter, but the more he experienced him, the stronger that feeling became.
Teacher Jung once said that purity and naivety were different. Mu-hae considered him the latter, as he lacked proper memories of the past and common sense, but every time intelligence flickered in those red eyes that looked at him, he questioned that judgment little by little.
‘It’s nothing much, but it keeps giving me the creeps.’
It wasn’t that he was bothered by the fact that Joo-oh wasn’t as much of an idiot as he had dismissed. Rather, having some sense was more helpful for the Return flight than being an empty doll.
It was just unsettling how the fine hairs on the back of his neck kept prickling. Usually, such instincts only kicked in during crisis situations where he felt like he’d be screwed in a split second.
Perhaps that was why he kept being wary of a man who was blankly staring up at the sky. When you thought about it, regardless of his intelligence, Joo-oh really didn’t know much in many ways.
Jin Mu-hae stretched his arms with a cracking sound and got up. Then, thud. A candy wrapped in plastic fell to the floor.
It seemed Joo-oh had left something to eat between the chairs at some point without him noticing. He wouldn’t eat something like this even if he was given it, but he consistently left them.
Mu-hae peeled off the shimmering, aurora-colored wrapper and popped the red hard candy into his mouth. It was disgustingly sweet.
He grumbled about how it was amazing that his taste buds were still intact even after sucking on things like this all day, and then he tucked the rustling wrapper into his pocket.
Lately, Joo-oh seemed to be collecting candy wrappers. Not that he was a crow, but he really collected all sorts of things.
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[Day 5682]
People who know secrets are always busy and bustling.
I don’t know who decided that law, but it seems to be the case. I guess it’s roughly the same principle as how the protagonist always attracts attention?
Thanks to that, even though Jin Mu-hae was sitting in a perfect position for me to snuggle up to yesterday, I couldn’t rush over and join him.
It’s a little sad, but it’s okay. I am Secret Agent Joo-oh.
Hmm…….
Jaegang District is a good place. The smell of grass and fresh water are everywhere. The smell of sunlight is a bit stronger than on Starlight Road. Though it’s all fake light anyway.
Most of all, no one here flicks me on the head or talks to me in an annoying way while poking at me. Rather, when our eyes meet and I smile, they even smile back. Is it because I don’t wear a hat here?
But Jin Mu-hae said that if I don’t wear a hat, troublesome things will happen.
Hello. Haha!
Oh, uh? Uh…… Hello?
And people keep giving me food! On my first day taking a walk without Jin Mu-hae, a baby human said I could have a bite of their ice cream.
I can swallow the ice cream and the hand holding it in one bite, but I’m a thinking Joo-oh who knows that’s not allowed.
I ate just as much as the baby human’s teeth marks. It was sweet, sour, and had a strong fruity smell, so I almost drooled.
To think I can get something delicious without making a Deal. It feels like items are being duplicated.
So, from then on, whenever I saw something I wanted to eat, I made eye contact and smiled a little. When I made the expression that Jin Mu-hae liked, people gave me chocolate, candy, and sometimes even meat.
Some of them were surprisingly not game items. Snacks that extra NPCs only pretended to eat to make it look good.
When I searched grocery stores or vending machines with the Jin Mu-hae character, the food that didn’t exist is now in my hands for me to taste.
A moment more hidden than a hidden moment! Every time something new like this came out in a game I thought I had already mastered, my body tingled as if I was being electrocuted, and I was filled with energy.
My feet bounced when I walked because I was so excited. Jin Mu-hae didn’t know that and told me not to run around just anywhere.
Ah. Of course, since I’m a ‘human’ helping Jin Mu-hae, it’s not like I was just playing around for that reason.
I found something even more amazing than candy. That’s why I’m a secret agent, and why I’ve become busy Joo-oh.
Exposure. It seems like there’s been a change in that gauge, which has been steadily rising and never decreasing since entering Chapter 2.
Our store’s clothes would look good on you.
It’s okay. Jin Mu-hae bought me some.
For example, the owner of the clothing store I greeted earlier.
That person isn’t one of Jin Mu-hae’s watchers or spies, but, um, how should I put it?
Right. A Central-friendly person. A true extra with no side quests.
However, if you ransack the store building and use the key you find to rob their house, you’ll find out that their close cousin works for the Security Department.
In other words, they’re an NPC whose automatically output dialogue changes as the Exposure increases. That solicitation just now was a brief taste of the hospitality you get only until you complete the first quest after entering Jaegang District.
The dialogue that should have changed after visiting Sakdal had returned to its initial state at some point. It was around the time I started farming for food and wandering around Jaegang District.
There are still many things I don’t know, and I haven’t even figured out why Jin Mu-hae doesn’t mate, but.
I can sense that there’s some kind of…… some kind of…… cause and effect! Cause and effect in these changes.
When I greet people in Jaegang District, smile, and receive food, the Exposure decreases.
It’s rare for Exposure to decrease once it’s increased, so I don’t know how this is happening.
Looks delicious.
Uh…… This? Would you like it?
It’s amazing. The more I take walks, the more people recognize me, but the Exposure decreases.
Perhaps the Exposure attached to Jin Mu-hae isn’t fame. Could it mean Exposure in terms of difficulty, as in negative attention from Central?
Whatever the case, the conclusion is that it’s good for Jin Mu-hae that I’m wandering around. So, these days, I walk slowly around the park every day.
It’s a shame that I can’t hug Jin Mu-hae tightly and smell him during my rare breaks…… but I can endure it.
Because humans are able to hold back even when they’re hungry or angry and want to sniff Jin Mu-hae anywhere.
Crunch. Crunch.*
Of course, it’s also because lowering the Exposure increases the possibility of changing the story.
Still, for now, I’m happy if Jin Mu-hae is happy.
[Log saved.]
Crunch!
Joo-oh, who was sitting on the grass in the park staring at the sky, finished chewing the apple candy.
As the tangy juice moistened his mouth, a smile unconsciously appeared on his moist lips.
Now, the quest was slowly starting to deal with the secrets of Solar City. Deep stories wouldn’t appear yet, but it was clear that Jin Mu-hae’s interest would shift in that direction.
Unfortunately for Mu-hae, the research in Solar City was a bit different from the Return flight. Still, it would affect his judgment in future story developments.
So, Joo-oh had to move too. Just as someone had pretended not to know and turned into an Experiment in Solar City, the type of information Jin Mu-hae came into contact with could also be ‘slyly’ changed.
‘Of course, I won’t lie to Jin Mu-hae.’
Joo-oh would never do the terrible thing of injecting manipulated information himself to Jin Mu-hae, the precious protagonist he had waited 15 years for.
Because he had longed for him so desperately, he had always missed the story of 「La Vida Blue」 as well. He wouldn’t do anything to ruin it entirely, no matter how much his sanity came and went.
But it was okay. Solar City had originally tried to use Crystal Blue without eliminating it. There were plenty of records advocating for Blue Energy.
Joo-oh would only select and hand over a few pieces of information that he hadn’t discovered and might have missed. It was a cover-up, but the judgment was entirely up to Jin Mu-hae.
‘Didn’t Sakdal come today?’
Moreover, Joo-oh’s work didn’t end there. He had seen someone from Sakdal near the hideout a few days ago.
It was obvious that Cheong was doing behind-the-scenes work to poke at Jin Mu-hae. Cheong, the obstacle route, would hide or take items needed for the quest first and request a private meeting, or increase the difficulty of the battle and watch how he dealt with it.
In the past, Joo-oh had deliberately antagonized him to increase the clear reward, but the real Jin Mu-hae was likely to just find Cheong annoying, regardless of the reward.
So, he was planning to block him appropriately. When Jin Mu-hae was angry, he would say something for no reason if you talked to him. He wouldn’t hug him well either.
Joo-oh had waited so long to come to Jaegang District and finally slept stuck together on the bed, but if he didn’t stroke his waist in the morning, Joo-oh felt like the whole world was collapsing.
‘Tch. I don’t feel good.’
Jin Mu-hae’s hands are rough. They’re bigger and thicker than Joo-oh’s face, but not clumsy.
When he slipped his warm hands into his clothes, Joo-oh felt like he had swallowed a handful of scalding glass.
His insides were hot, and his vision was filled with light. When he rubbed his stomach, his lower body itched, and when he tugged at the tips of his breasts, his waist twisted.
The more that happened, the stronger Jin Mu-hae’s scent became. It was a different scent than usual. The more he smelled it, the stiffer his legs became, and his body melted away.
That was the first time he had felt such a sensation in his 15 years of memories. Joo-oh hadn’t even mated, but he was wasting his seed.
He couldn’t think of anything other than wanting Jin Mu-hae to touch him more, harder, and continuously.
If he hadn’t pushed him away, he could have rubbed his butt against his warm legs more.
He was chased away for trying to lick up Jin Mu-hae’s seed that had spilled everywhere.
‘Does he perhaps dislike mating?’
Suddenly, Joo-oh recalled his disgusted face in the sewer tunnel. Was there something wrong with his words and actions again?
Joo-oh narrowed his eyes and struggled to recall the memories before he fell into 「La Vida Blue」.
But, hmm. He still didn’t know. The detailed information about mating was close to blank, and only the concept remained in his head.
Joo-oh clicked his tongue as he had learned from Mu-hae and got up. To be honest, not only was it foggy before the possession, but now even the moment he had just fallen here was hazy.
Adapting to the life of an Aberrant in the body of an Aberrant was like that. It was the path to survival by breaking and devouring even the last bit of human ego that remained.
“It can’t be helped.”
Joo-oh brushed off the crumbs on his head and checked his wrist. The Link Watch that Jin Mu-hae had bought him was signaling that it was time to return.
“Hmm…….”
For the time being, he would have to keep Cheong a secret. Joo-oh was happy only when Jin Mu-hae was happy.
It was something that Joo-oh could work harder on alone in a place he didn’t know about.
It wasn’t unfamiliar. So far, it was all Joo-oh who had unlocked the locks on Jin Seong-jo’s legacy, found clues, and led him here.
“I miss Jin Mu-hae.”
Once he finished his thoughts, his clear red eyes became blank again. It seemed he had used too much energy thinking.
Joo-oh hummed the insert song of 「La Vida Blue」, as he had always done whenever he regained his senses over the years, and trudged back the way he had come.