By Zephyria Eui-jae, at a loss for words, stared at Hong Ye-seong’s taxidermied, confident smile. The two had made a promise in a past he couldn’t remember.
‘To save the world.’
Eui-jae clenched and unclenched his fist. Was it okay to forget such an important promise? Had he done something terrible to Hong Ye-seong?
Just then, Hong Ye-seong blurted out.
—Hey, hey, don’t take it too seriously. This was a promise for me. I badgered you into it when you were being stubborn and didn’t want to.
Eui-jae’s eyes widened.
“What?”
—Well… I don’t know if the you now knows, but this body’s interests change on a whim. I can’t concentrate on one thing for long. I get bored easily. And I don’t want to do anything if I think of it as work. I just want to play.
A shallow playfulness settled in the Emotional Eye.
—But saving the world is different.
“…….”
—I’ve seen you save the world many times, you know?
“…….”
—It looked really cool. So I thought I’d tag along this time when you save the world.
There was an excited tone in Hong Ye-seong’s voice.
—How about it, did it help a little? I’m the only one who can provide this level of high-end reasoning and information, right?
Hong Ye-seong in the faded black and white photo is smiling. He probably kept smiling. Eui-jae barely managed to utter the words that surged up his throat.
“Thank you.”
—…….
“You kept… you trapped yourself here. To keep the promise.”
Eui-jae knew loneliness better than anyone. He also knew how precious the warmth of others was.
Cha Eui-jae in the first world wouldn’t have been lonely. The reason he could decide to save the world even after losing Lee Sa-young was probably because Hong Ye-seong was standing by his side. So instead of going crazy, he made the decision to turn back time and get Lee Sa-young back.
But after he trapped himself in the photo, how many people looked at Hong Ye-seong’s photo? He was probably the first. Especially since Cha Eui-jae from the previous world died early. Eui-jae opened his mouth.
“I’m….”
—Hey, that’s enough. Let’s stop with the heavy stories. Lee Sa-young’s condition is more important. …Huh?
The light in the Emotional Eye shifted somewhere. Hong Ye-seong muttered.
—Looks like Lee Sa-young woke up. That crazy brat is quick on the uptake.
“He woke up? Just a moment.”
—Ah, this is bad, you’re probably banging your head on the table right now.
“What? Hey, you—”
—Let’s go!
Before he could finish speaking, he felt someone grab his head and pull him up. Eui-jae swallowed the curse beyond his throat and was dragged away.
Soon, Eui-jae gasped for breath, opening his eyes like someone who had just emerged from the water. And instinctively held his breath.
Purple eyes were staring intently at him.
Eui-jae hurriedly sat up. He seemed to have lost consciousness while lying on the table. Already, the blue evening sky was swallowing the sunset.
Quite some time had passed. Eui-jae rolled his eyes. Lee Sa-young, who had been tilting his head and looking at him, moved his head without breaking eye contact. His eyes were sharp, as if he would devour him. Eui-jae cautiously called out to him.
“…Lee…Sa-young? You’re awake?”
“…Ha.”
A short snort was heard. Soon, Sa-young folded his eyes and smiled brightly. Eui-jae subtly averted his gaze, as if light was radiating from his face. Sa-young asked in a gentle, soft voice.
“Were you very tired?”
“No… well….”
“Yeah, well… you must have been tired…. I understand.”
Eui-jae, who was averting his gaze for no reason, saw the screen of the cell phone in Lee Sa-young’s hand.
「J, Redefines the Ranking 1st.」
「J Continues Unprecedented Moves… What is He Thinking?」
「Hero J, How Did He Return from the West Sea Rift?」
Whether he had searched for ‘J’ in the portal site’s news section, the screen was filled with headlines about J. A cold feeling ran down his neck and back.
‘Ah, shit.’
“You must have been. You worked so hard…. Right?”
Sa-young, who had been squatting, sat down on his butt, then placed his hands on the floor and suddenly thrust his face forward. Eui-jae leaned back as much as he could and answered.
“No, that’s… you suddenly collapsed.”
“I collapsed.”
“But the way the world is turning isn’t normal, is it?”
“It wouldn’t have been.”
“If the 2nd ranked is absent, there will be a lot of talk….”
“Uh-huh. So Hyung stepped in?”
“No, I know the Monsters that appear better than anyone else.”
“Aha…….”
Sa-young, who let out a long sigh, roughly swept back his hair.
“So you were so tired that you were sleeping with your head buried in a place like this? Without even lying down?”
“I didn’t sleep because I was tired.”
“Your sense of duty is truly amazing….”
He felt wronged. But he couldn’t say that he had a private conversation with Hong Ye-seong from another world who was possessing Cluck’s body, could he? He couldn’t give too much stimulation to someone who had just woken up.
Eui-jae glanced at Cluck. It was a gesture to do something, but Cluck had already turned its body around and was sitting with its back to him. Its round back looked like an old man saying, ‘I won’t look.’
‘That crazy brat, really.’
Eui-jae glared. His grateful heart vanished completely. In the end, he had no choice but to use the ultimate technique he had always used.
Eui-jae reached out his arms, wrapped them around Sa-young’s neck, and pulled him in. Unlike his irritated appearance, he came willingly. Eui-jae, hugging Sa-young in an awkward posture, stammered and asked.
“Is your body… a little… okay?”
“…….”
“You were crying so much earlier, I wondered if something was wrong.”
“I told you I wasn’t crying.”
“Hey, I came here to ask you about that anyway. Inside you….”
“…I know too.”
Sa-young replied gruffly and wrapped his arms around his waist. Then, he let out a low sigh and rubbed his head against his neck.
“Hong Ye-seong was lying next to you, though.”
Of course, the problem was that what he said was not cute, unlike his actions. Eui-jae mechanically stroked his head and sold the honor of the sleeping Hong Ye-seong.
“He suddenly passed out while we were talking. I guess he drank too much yesterday.”
“…Is that so? Did you hear anything?”
“Not yet.”
How long had they been hugging and talking like that? He felt a vibration from behind. It was Lee Sa-young’s cell phone. Sa-young unwrapped his arms from his waist and checked the screen. He frowned.
“……I’ll go take a call.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
Sa-young disappeared behind the thatched house. Even if he strained his ears, he couldn’t hear his voice. Did he go outside the Shield? Eui-jae kicked the cushion where Cluck was sitting with his foot.
“Hey, traitor.”
“Traitor? I’d like you to call me a true friend who guarantees you two some alone time.”
“Shut up. Tell me more about Lee Sa-young.”
“To do that, I have to go back to that Shield. It’s a bit of a delicate story to tell here.”
It was getting worse and worse. If Lee Sa-young was lying on the table again when he came back, he had no idea how he would react this time. Eui-jae racked his brain, then lowered his body, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered.
“That’s right. Do you know anything about Prometheus? Tell me anything.”
Cluck, who had subtly turned its head, also covered its beak with its wing and answered.
“I don’t know.”
It was an unexpected answer. It was acting like a sage who had seen the world, but now it was pretending not to know and sticking out its chicken feet? Eui-jae glared again.
“Why don’t you know this again? You were talking like you knew everything.”
“Well, those guys didn’t leave any special traces in my world, so that’s why. I only saw such grandiose names in 『Greek and Roman Mythology in Comics』.”
Eui-jae still couldn’t shake off his suspicion and looked at Cluck. Cluck, who was remarkably quick to notice his distrust, hit Eui-jae’s arm with its wing.
“In the first place, I only found out that those guys existed here while watching over you.”
“What about the drug that mutates the Awakened?”
“There’s no way there would be. This world is especially harsh.”
“…….”
Their eyes met. An organization that did not exist in the previous world. It only appeared in this world out of the three worlds. Eui-jae muttered.
“Could that also be a side effect?”
“Wouldn’t it be right to see it that way?”
“Shit, why is the side effect like that? What kind of side effect is it to go crazy as a group?”
“I don’t know either. You have to find that out yourself. Give me some more scorched rice.”
Eui-jae obediently presented a piece of scorched rice in front of it.
“Hey. Let me ask you one more thing.”
Cluck, who had been pecking at the scorched rice with its beak, raised its head and tilted it.
“What is it?”
As expected, he couldn’t get used to Hong Ye-seong’s voice coming out of that cute face. Perhaps because he had just seen Hong Ye-seong taxidermied in the photo, the sense of incongruity was even worse. Eui-jae needlessly broke his share of scorched rice and asked.
“Were you… Cluck from the beginning? Did you make all the clucking sounds yourself?”
Cluck dropped the piece of scorched rice it was holding in its beak. Shock rippled through its small, bean-like eyes.
“Are you seriously asking?”
“Tell me quickly. I think I need to look back on my past.”
“Friend…. What do you think of people.”
Cluck cocked its head as if it was displeased. Eui-jae, who was watching it, also became displeased. What was that guy doing with Cluck’s shiny, round, and cute body? Cluck flapped its wings.
“I only borrowed Cluck’s body temporarily this time. Since it was an object made by Hong Ye-seong, it was easy to borrow the body. I don’t have such a hobby.”
“Why didn’t you come to his body? Isn’t that more comfortable?”
“There’s a complicated story there….”
Cluck, who was moving its beak, waddled and approached the sleeping Hong Ye-seong. Hong Ye-seong was drooling in his sleep, using the cushion as a pillow. Watching that scene, Eui-jae thought anew. What would it feel like to see his own appearance so closely, from someone else’s perspective?
“He’s a little weird, isn’t he? Like he’s missing a screw.”
“Cough.”
Eui-jae, surprised by the sudden time of self-reflection, covered his mouth and coughed roughly. Cluck continued to speak without paying attention.
“But it can’t be helped. Because the Souls that should have been one are divided. Since the total amount of Soul is insufficient, something is bound to be lacking.”
“What? But Lee Sa-young is…. Wait.”
Eui-jae suddenly raised his head. He couldn’t feel Lee Sa-young’s presence.
No, this is….
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Eui-jae quickly grabbed Cluck’s beak. Cluck, who was flapping its wings as if it was angry, quietly closed its beak as if it had noticed the atmosphere.
Rather than not feeling his presence, it would be more accurate to say that he had ‘hidden’ his presence. Eui-jae’s eyes flashed blue for a moment. At the same time, Lee Sa-young, who had been hiding his presence, revealed himself. Sa-young, who had his hands in his coat pockets, raised the corners of his lips.
“Oh… I thought it was my fault.”
“…….”
“I thought Hyung was so lonely while I was asleep that he developed a habit of talking to chickens….”
“…….”
“Then….”
Sa-young, who approached silently, bent down slightly and met Eui-jae’s eyes. His purple eyes shone fiercely.
“Who… is that crazy brat?”