By Zephyria “Hey… why would he like you, no.”
Eui-jae nimbly swallowed the curse that was about to burst out. He wanted to treat him as well as possible, but it was difficult. Sa-young, who had moved to face Eui-jae, blinked and tilted his head slightly.
“Why?”
“Get your face out of the… get out of the way.”
“Don’t you like me?”
His long eyelashes fluttered. Eui-jae gritted his teeth. In his head, the rude Lee Sa-young and the kind boy were still clashing relentlessly. He knew that they were the same person, that Lee Sa-young had gone through many things, and that he had waited a long time for him to return. He was grateful and fond of him for keeping his promise without a deadline. But….
‘Lee Sa-young’s first impression… not good.’
The memory that floated up was the image of the Gas mask beating people up in the back alley. Of course, the image of him rudely flipping him off, and even the image of him persistently following him.
‘Is this why they say first impressions are important….’
Eui-jae looked at Sa-young with an ambiguous expression. Of course, he wasn’t in good shape back then either, so their first impressions of each other must have been the worst. It must have been a meeting of crazy people. Eui-jae inadvertently began to reflect on himself. And, Since there was no answer to the question, Sa-young’s lips twisted. He muttered in an eerie voice.
“No answer….”
“No, I like you. Of course, I like you.”
It was a mechanical agreement, like “I love you, customer.” Of course, Lee Sa-young was not satisfied with the mechanical response. He glared at Eui-jae with a crooked posture.
However, with the mindset of a good part-timer, Cha Eui-jae had no way to keep up with Lee Sa-young’s logical leaps. Sa-young was the owner of a talent that could steal even the spirit to savor the reunion with a long-lost colleague with a single word.
‘Fucking hell, he’s really multi-talented.’
Okay, calm down. Eui-jae took a short, deep breath. Wasn’t he the boy he had been looking for? He must have gone through a lot of hardships. Let’s just show a little consideration. Eui-jae grabbed the black hand that was fidgeting with the mask and asked a question that was as refined as possible.
“What kind of thought process do you have to go through to come to that conclusion?”
Of course, it wasn’t very refined compared to the effort.
“Huh? Ah….”
Sa-young shrugged his shoulders, averting his gaze.
“Didn’t you not plan to meet Jung-bin like this, just the two of us, so suddenly? Even if you did, it wouldn’t have been now.”
That was true. If Lee Sa-young hadn’t avoided the conversation like a loach, he wouldn’t have had to meet Jung-bin alone. He would have gone to see him later. Sa-young continued slowly.
“But still, you contacted Jung-bin, and not just anything… you asked about me.”
Purple eyes stared at Eui-jae. Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
“That means you were curious about me. Right?”
“…….”
“And that curiosity must have come from interest….”
Sa-young raised his chin slightly as if to ask how it was. He had the face of a cat showing off the prey it had brought in. Eui-jae patted his hand as if praising him, then put his hands behind his back.
“Yeah, well… let’s just say that’s the case. And….”
Eui-jae glanced behind Sa-young. The creaking spring noise had subsided. Min-gi Seo was stretching his legs out on the pig rocking horse and tapping on his phone, as if he had successfully completed the repair. He raised his head as if he had noticed the gaze, and his eyes met.
“Oh.”
After letting out a short exclamation, he took out some headphones from his Inventory and put them on. Min-gi Seo nodded his head.
“Please feel free to talk as if I’m not here. I’m going on a journey into the world of rock from now on.”
“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”
“Then I’ll see you later. If you have any instructions, please contact me by phone.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
“By the way, customer, Romantic Opener is completely passed out, so you don’t have to worry about him. Then.”
As if to prove that his words were true, Min-gi Seo began to rhythmically shake his head. A moment later, he disappeared as if melting into the shadows. Only Romantic Opener was dangling on the seesaw. His body was so limp that it seemed like he was dead. Only the regularly swelling and sinking back was telling of his survival.
‘…Okay, if he’s passed out, it doesn’t matter.’
Eui-jae turned his gaze away as if he hadn’t seen it and looked at Sa-young. Sa-young was still staring at him. When their eyes met, a smile appeared on his delicate face.
Eui-jae, who was choosing his words, sighed deeply.
‘I can’t beat around the bush after all.’
In the end, he threw a full fastball.
“Now that this has happened, let’s talk openly. Every time I ask you, you keep dodging the question, and we’re not making any progress in the conversation.”
“…….”
“Don’t avoid it this time.”
Sa-young didn’t answer. The shadows on his face changed every time the streetlights flickered. The crimson streetlight flashed brightly for a moment. The shadows deepened as much. His shaded, handsome face was tinged with gloomy light. Eui-jae continued slowly.
“I heard the story from Jung-bin. Lee Sa-young, from the moment you Awakened until now. But there are parts that only you know.”
Lee Sa-young agreed readily, considering he was the one who had been avoiding the conversation.
“Well…. I guess so.”
“We have a lot to talk about. We have a lot to say, and a lot to hear.”
“…….”
“What happened to you after I went into the Rift. Tell me everything.”
If Lee Sa-young had been waiting for Cha Eui-jae until now.
He wanted to hear all the stories that had happened in the meantime. He wanted to know all about the past eight years that Eui-jae had not been with him. He wanted to share the burdens and pain he had been carrying, even now. Would that be a small atonement for not being there with him, for not protecting him?
But Lee Sa-young…
“Why?”
“What?”
He had a genuinely puzzled expression.
Eui-jae’s eyes widened. It was an answer he had never expected. Sa-young crossed his arms and stared at Eui-jae. His eyes narrowed. Then he sighed briefly and tapped his arm with his finger.
“I knew Hyung would be like this. But….”
Sa-young, who lowered his eyes as if lost in thought, muttered.
“I don’t feel good about it.”
Why the hell?
His chest fluttered. He had experienced being cursed at to his face, and he had experienced being talked about behind his back. But even though it wasn’t a harsh word, he felt like his heart was sinking. Cha Eui-jae couldn’t overcome the unknown emotion and clenched his fist. His short-cut nails dug into his palm.
Lee Sa-young slowly opened his mouth.
“If Hyung had told me to listen to his story… I would have gladly listened.”
“…….”
“It would have been better. I’m curious about the time you spent in the Rift, too.”
“But why,”
The words popped out without him realizing it. Sa-young raised the corners of his lips.
“Let me ask you something in return.”
“…What is it?”
“Why are you curious about my past? I’m not being sarcastic, I’m just curious about the reason.”
Lee Sa-young spread his arms.
“The me you were looking for is right in front of you.”
“That’s because….”
Lee Sa-young was dragged to Prometheus’ research facility for some reason while he was in the West Sea Rift. They would have done all sorts of experiments to make Lee Sa-young an artificial Awakened. Just looking at the files from the Odaesan Research Institute, he could roughly guess what kind of experiments he had been subjected to.
He couldn’t forgive them.
Eui-jae opened his mouth.
“While I was in the West Sea Rift….”
“No.”
Sa-young cut him off firmly.
“That premise is wrong from the start.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Eui-jae retorted sharply. Lee Sa-young swept back his hair. A white forehead was visible between the parted bangs. Sa-young muttered like a sigh.
“I knew this would happen….”
“Speak clearly. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“My past is none of Hyung’s business.”
It was an absurd claim. Eui-jae gritted his teeth. And he spat out each word as if chewing on it.
“Why isn’t it my business? While I was gone, you….”
“It already happened a long time ago…,”
Sa-young took a step closer. His black hand approached as if to cover his face. Eui-jae neither pushed the hand away nor avoided it. His body instinctively realized that the hand would not harm him. The hand carefully took off the mask. Two pairs of eyes met without anything to hide. His thick lips parted.
“It’s not Hyung’s responsibility. As I said in that Dungeon.”
The Invasion Dungeon where the ground was shaking. What did Lee Sa-young say back then? Fortunately, he was able to recall it quickly.
‘Hyung… acts like he has to take responsibility for everything and solve everything.’
But that’s a different case. Eui-jae muttered only in his mouth. Lee Sa-young was Cha Eui-jae’s only one. He was the one he had saved, the one he had brought back to life. He was the one he had resolved to protect at all costs.
A special person.
“Don’t take responsibility for you? Me, you….”
Now he could understand the identity of the unknown emotion. Cha Eui-jae….
“You….”
He was disappointed.
Then the black hand carefully wrapped around Eui-jae’s cheek.
“I’m really happy that Hyung thinks about me and is curious about me….”
“…….”
“But I don’t want that to be a responsibility.”
A soft voice whispered.
“A one-sided relationship of responsibility is not equal.”
“…….”
“I want an equal relationship, J.”