By Zephyria The bitten finger twitched slightly each time his tongue touched it. Eui-jae released the hand that had been holding his wrist. However, Lee Sa-young’s hand remained still in that position.
He was staring blankly at Eui-jae, quite literally. But only for a moment, as Sa-young shifted his gaze to the floor. Eui-jae wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“As much as you kept your word and waited for me… No, even more than that.”
“…….”
“I’ll compensate you.”
“…….”
“Even if you don’t want it.”
Red blood welled up along the clear teeth marks left on the first joint of his left ring finger. At first glance, it looked like a red ring. Eui-jae added firmly.
“And if you say something like you’re not responsible again, or tell me not to worry about it, I won’t let it slide.”
“…….”
“Lee Sa-young, look at me. Do you understand?”
Sa-young, who had been counting the patterns as he lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the floor, slowly raised his head. And at that moment, Eui-jae unknowingly opened his mouth slightly.
“You….”
Lee Sa-young’s face was….
“…….”
Dyed a subtle red. As if he were embarrassed!
After a brief moment of eye contact, Lee Sa-young slyly rolled his eyes away, avoiding his gaze. Covering his mouth with the back of his hand was a bonus. It was a terrible comparison that didn’t suit Lee Sa-young at all, but only one comparison came to mind. Yes, it was like the gesture of a shy new bride.
Cha Eui-jae froze in place.
‘…Why?’
A shock, as if someone had struck him in the head with a hammer, reverberated through his entire body. This embarrassing reaction was not what Cha Eui-jae had expected. He had prepared himself for another tedious argument, starting with ‘Ah, is that so?’, before throwing out those words and actions.
‘Seriously, why?’
His sharp intuition, which had saved his life countless times, missed the mark every time when it came to Lee Sa-young. At this point, Eui-jae felt wronged. Isn’t it weird for the guy who bit my finger to be so shy? Shouldn’t he be angry?
Just then, blood, redder than his reddened face, streamed down his finger. If this were the Destroyed world and Cha Eui-jae’s house, he would have had a first-aid kit. Eui-jae chewed on the inside of his cheek and turned his head.
“…Let’s get you treated first.”
“…….”
Sa-young nodded obediently. His thick lips, which were usually so talkative and good at being sarcastic, were tightly shut. Eui-jae added, moving his stiff body like a creaking wooden doll.
“And… take off that apron, too.”
Leaving the blankly standing Lee Sa-young behind, Eui-jae fled into the nearest room and slammed the door shut. Fortunately, the first-aid kit was sitting on the drawer as if on display. Of course, if it were kept in a hard-to-find place, it would be useless in an emergency.
Inside the box were essential medicines and a familiar-looking purple Antidote, along with hard-to-find Elixir, all neatly organized. Except for things like bandages, most of them were new.
‘…The neatness isn’t my doing.’
Did Lee Sa-young of this world organize it? Eui-jae, with the first-aid kit tucked under his arm, looked around the room, using his reluctance to move as an excuse.
A fairly large bed, big enough for one person, was placed right in the middle of the room. It was also strange that there was a lamp on each side of the bed, and it was even stranger that there were things that clearly belonged to someone else on the small drawers underneath.
On the left drawer was an Awakened Management Bureau pager, and on the right drawer were glasses.
‘Glasses.’
Eui-jae carefully picked up the glasses and put them on. His eyesight must be quite bad, as he felt dizzy just from putting them on.
Lee Sa-young of this world, whose eyesight was affected by the aftereffects of Poison.
Come to think of it, the Lee Sa-young I know also wore glasses, didn’t he? It was only once, though. The Lee Sa-young he saw right after being Spaceship Delivery from Incheon Port was wearing glasses.
A constantly strange and subtle feeling pricked at his mind.
‘…Could it be.’
Eui-jae froze, holding the glasses.
‘Do we… sleep in the same bed?’
Me and Lee Sa-young?
Eui-jae’s face turned pale. He felt like something irreversible would happen if he thought about it any further.
‘No, there was no such story in the memories I crammed into my head earlier!’
But even if he denied it, the visible evidence alone was enough to get him arrested as a criminal caught in the act.
‘…No, that can’t be it. Absolutely not.’
After completing his self-hypnosis, Eui-jae burst open the door as if to break it down and went out into the living room. Sa-young, who was still standing blankly in the same spot, raised his head. The apron he had taken off was hanging on his arm. Fortunately, his face had returned to its usual pale white color.
Eui-jae walked past him to the sofa, saying,
“Sit on the sofa. I’ll disinfect it and put on a bandage.”
Sa-young nodded slightly and sat on the sofa, holding out his hand. Eui-jae sprayed disinfectant on a gauze and wiped around the teeth marks. Fortunately, the bleeding wasn’t severe. Sa-young, who had been quietly watching Eui-jae’s movements, opened his mouth.
“…You’re better at it than I thought.”
Eui-jae, who had cut the gauze with a small pair of scissors, retorted indifferently.
“Why? Did you think I’d just pour disinfectant on it?”
“Well, I thought you might… I was prepared for it.”
“What do you take me for? How much experience do you think I have with treating people directly….”
“…Ah.”
Eui-jae, sensing his discomfort, added as if making an excuse.
“There were no healers back then, so I had no choice.”
“There would have been general medical staff, though.”
“When you close a Rift, the injured and the dead pour out, so those who can move have to treat themselves.”
“…….”
Sa-young’s eyes showed displeasure, but fortunately, he didn’t say anything more. Eui-jae put a dressing band on the wound and took his hand away.
“Okay, done.”
“Yeah.”
Sa-young moved his finger and shrugged.
“It’s my first time getting a wound on my hand, so it’s kind of new.”
“…….”
“And to think it would be from someone biting me….”
Eui-jae’s eyes narrowed. Sa-young covered his mouth and chuckled softly.
“I thought you were a dog.”
“There he goes again with the attitude….”
Eui-jae glared at him. The Lee Sa-young who had been embarrassed earlier had a cute side to him, but the Lee Sa-young who had regained his composure was scratching at his nerves as if he had been waiting for this moment. Sa-young, with his hand spread wide, murmured languidly.
“Well, still… it’s a good thing I don’t have any Poison in this body, even if you bite me.”
“…You don’t?”
“Hyung said so, didn’t he? That only my Soul came over here. My body is collapsed in the original world.”
Sa-young rested his chin on his hand and lifted the loose front of his clothes with his thumb and forefinger.
“I wondered why my body felt a bit dull and heavy since I opened my eyes.”
“…….”
“And… more than anything, Hyung is fine. I guess this body is pre-Awakening.”
“I’ve told you so many times that your Poison isn’t a threat to me….”
“I suppose so.”
He finally thought he had shattered the misunderstanding! Basilisk’s Poison hadn’t worked, and he had just drunk his blood. Eui-jae, who had suddenly become a vampire, clenched his fist.
“I’ll bite you again once we get out of here. Let’s see then.”
“Ah….”
Sa-young, drawing out the end of his words, replied with a laugh.
“Okay. I was… a little disappointed, anyway.”
Sa-young got up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen with a light step. Eui-jae sighed softly as he organized the contents of the first-aid kit. After the clattering sounds stopped, Lee Sa-young peeked his head out from the kitchen.
“Oh, and.”
“Yeah?”
“You said ‘up to here for now’ earlier, right?”
‘Up to here for now, any questions?’
Sa-young raised the corners of his lips.
“I was wondering if there’s more to the story. I understand why Hyung came here, but I was wondering why I came here… things like that.”
‘Shit.’
“We should continue the story over dinner, right?”
Lee Sa-young’s memory was too good.
“Come quickly. Let’s fill our stomachs first.”
The half-cooked omelet, the bread that was so burnt it was hard to tell if it was toasted or burnt, and other dishes were placed in order. Sa-young, after confirming that he had no Poison, moved even more diligently.
He took out apricot jam, strawberry jam, and cream cheese from somewhere in the refrigerator and lined them up on the table. It wasn’t a perfect meal, but it was enough to fill their stomachs. Neither of them was particularly picky about food.
Eui-jae examined Sa-young. Sa-young was munching on the omelet with a slight frown. When there’s food in his mouth is the chance. Eui-jae pretended to spread cream cheese on the bread and started talking.
“To continue the story from earlier, I was regaining my senses and figuring out the situation… The System said it would give me what I needed most right now.”
Sa-young nodded. Eui-jae’s voice grew smaller.
“…So I said I would receive it.”
“Ah….”
Sa-young’s eyes sharpened. He’s going to eat me alive, he’s going to eat me alive. Eui-jae, who had subtly avoided his gaze, pouted his lips. Sa-young, after swallowing the omelet, put down his fork and sighed deeply.
“Do you just take those words at face value? Without even checking what the price is?”
“No….”
“Hyung is really….”
Sa-young, who was silent as if choosing his words, said.
“Be careful not to get scammed anywhere.”
“I’ve never been scammed in my life.”
“I suppose so. So?”
“So… then.”
“Then?”
“You… came here.”
“…….”
“…….”
This time, Eui-jae avoided his gaze and pretended not to notice.
Lee Sa-young was what Cha Eui-jae needed most. He didn’t know why, though.
Eui-jae covered the innocent bread with cream cheese. At that moment, a low voice echoed from across the table.
“That I was what you needed most.”
“…….”
“That’s quite….”
“…….”
“A nice thing to hear.”
Soon after, there was a rustling sound.
“Among the things I’ve heard since coming here.”
Something warm nudged his foot. Eui-jae, pretending not to notice, took a big bite of the bread and paused. The sensation tickling his instep was probably….
‘A foot?’
Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young sitting across from him. He was already resting his chin on his hands, staring intently at Eui-jae. The finger with the bandage playfully tapped his cheek. When their eyes met, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Meanwhile, the foot that had been tickling his instep was now gently rubbing the ankle bone of his ankle. His toes curled at the unfamiliar sensation. Eui-jae, who hurriedly chewed and swallowed the bread, said.
“…Hey.”
“Eung.”
Sa-young tilted his head slightly. With an angelic smile on his face.