By Zephyria The two hands covering his face scrubbed roughly. Of course, that didn’t bring back his runaway mind. Eui-jae stared blankly into the air, disheveled. He hadn’t realized people’s imaginations were this great. All sorts of rumors were bubbling up like foam from just one photo.
Eui-jae recalled a YouTube video he had seen recently with 534 views. Letters swarmed out on a black screen in bright red, yellow, and white. Modern people who had experienced the Day of the Rift and the Day of Change tended to seek greater stimulation to escape reality. The so-called dopamine deficiency phenomenon. Eui-jae became a little serious.
‘Fucking hell… are humans all dopamine deficient?’
Are they all tired of their difficult lives and chasing stimulation? Still, is this okay? Don’t the media have any ethics these days?
‘What did Min-gi Seo do?’
The unnecessary blame also fell on the all-purpose problem solver, Min-gi Seo. However, Min-gi Seo, a thorough workaholic in strange places, had already dug himself an escape route. Eui-jae rummaged around for his cell phone and reread the text message.
Seo Min-gi-ssi: Just so you know, all the surrounding CCTV footage has been taken care of. I didn’t sense anyone around until you two got into the van. It seems like the information broker did this.
It was a text message that arrived before Eui-jae even asked for an explanation of the situation, but it could be summarized in one line, though he had said it in a roundabout way.
‘Not my fault.’
Eui-jae sent a text reply with a sour look on his face.
Yes, I understand. Please organize and send information related to the information broker. Thank you.
The hidden meaning was this.
‘I don’t know who it is, but please give me some information so I can fuck that bastard up. Thank you?’
Eui-jae trudged toward the full-length window that filled one side of the wall. As he roughly straightened his disheveled hair while looking at the glass, the comments on the article floated around in his head.
J beat up 240, locked him up in some remote area, established discipline, sorted out the hierarchy, fought for three months, these sensational contents were the better ones. The problem was….
—The expression “intimate relationship” is dangerous.
—So they had a lovers’ quarrel and J won?
These kinds of reactions.
Only a small part compared to the mainstream reactions, and just jokes.
He knows. It’s nonsense. Cha Eui-jae knows it too. He can ignore it. Normally, he would have scoffed and laughed it off. People’s guesses are all untrue, and the reality is more brutal. No, Lee Sa-young, who had been asleep for three months, became two people!
Nevertheless, Eui-jae couldn’t calm his troubled mind. Because,
‘Fucking hell….’
There were too many things that pricked his conscience to ignore and laugh it off….
Eui-jae took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He couldn’t light it because it was someone else’s house and indoors. He just fiddled with the innocent cigarette.
Anyway, he had seen many articles discussing J in his life, but this was the first article that launched a mental attack like this. Eui-jae frowned as he looked at the photo saved in his gallery. The background was familiar. Near the West Sea Memorial Tower. The photo was taken during the short time he carried Lee Sa-young, who had cried himself to sleep, to the van.
‘It’s definitely strange.’
Even if Cha Eui-jae was distracted by Lee Sa-young, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed the camera or people around. How on earth was this photo taken? Maybe that’s the ‘information broker’s’ ability. Eui-jae sighed as he looked at his hands tightly wrapped around Lee Sa-young’s back and arms.
‘…Should I have just carried him like luggage?’
It was a belated regret. But even that regret disappeared like the tide receding. He couldn’t just sling a kid who was crying like a broken faucet even after falling asleep on his shoulder, could he? The kid was crying.
It was the moment Eui-jae sighed once again. He felt a presence behind him.
“…What are you doing?”
Along with the hoarse voice, soft hair touched the back of his neck. A sweet scent wafted. The hand that wrapped around his waist was very natural. Eui-jae quickly turned off his phone screen and answered.
“Nothing.”
“What were you looking at just now….”
“It’s nothing.”
“…….”
Eui-jae glanced at the glass window. Lee Sa-young was resting his chin on Eui-jae’s shoulder with the face of a satisfied lion, blinking slowly. Sleepiness was evident in his eyes. A black hand came and grabbed the end of the cigarette in his mouth.
“Why a cigarette? Without even lighting it….”
The end of the cigarette began to melt black. The sweet scent became stronger. A languid voice asked in a whisper.
“Do you smoke?”
Eui-jae straightened his back for no reason.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Since when….”
“Not long….”
Just before the filter part in his mouth melted down, a thumb and forefinger slipped slightly between his lips. A low laugh was heard as Eui-jae frowned. The finger brushed against the tip of his tongue before pulling away. The cigarette that had left his lips soon became a black liquid and disappeared into Sa-young’s grasp. Sa-young shook his hand and muttered briefly.
“Quit it. You have to live a long life.”
The hand that had wrapped around his waist slowly loosened. Sa-young yawned widely and walked to the bathroom. Eui-jae rubbed the back of his neck for no reason and rolled his eyes. A System window popped up saying that Basilisk’s Poison had been activated, but he waved his hand to erase it. The place he was standing was the top floor of Wave Guild, Lee Sa-young’s living room.
Two days ago, Lee Sa-young, who had started sweating cold sweat from the foot of the mountain, collapsed as soon as he came down from the mountain. Of course, not only Cha Eui-jae but also Min-gi Seo, who was waiting in the car, were turned upside down.
The two debated whether to put Lee Sa-young in the car and go to Nam Woo-jin or climb the mountain again. He had already been asleep for three months.
But Min-gi Seo kept glancing at Eui-jae throughout the discussion. So much so that Eui-jae, who couldn’t stand it, spoke first.
‘Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something you want to say?’
‘Ah, I was wondering if you could give me a warning in advance if you’re going to explode.’
‘Explode?’
‘Don’t you remember? You wielded me around like a toy doll. That, physically.’
‘…….’
He must be talking about the Day of Change. Eui-jae didn’t remember, but the victim, Min-gi Seo, seemed to remember that day clearly. Eui-jae rubbed Lee Sa-young’s cheeks for no reason.
‘I won’t do that anymore….’
It wasn’t exactly a trustworthy statement. Min-gi Seo also replied in a suspicious voice.
‘Yeees…. I’ll believe you for now.’
It was a tone that didn’t believe him at all.
That’s how Min-gi Seo hid in the shadows a couple of times, and after Eui-jae rubbed both of Lee Sa-young’s cheeks about five times, the heated discussion came to an end. The conclusion was to climb the mountain again. The moment Eui-jae rustled and prepared to carry Lee Sa-young on his back, a strong hand grabbed Eui-jae’s arm.
‘…Let’s go home.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t talk nonsense….’
Lee Sa-young had already opened his eyes.
He glared at Eui-jae as if he would devour him and spat out each word.
‘It’s because my stamina is low…, don’t be ridiculous… just go home.’
Was that his last strength? After speaking, Lee Sa-young lost consciousness again. With a deeply furrowed brow. It seemed like that was his last strength.
Eui-jae awkwardly smoothed out Lee Sa-young’s crumpled brow and gestured to Min-gi Seo.
That’s how they arrived home with Sa-young….
Cha Eui-jae couldn’t leave this house for even a step. For two days.
“…….”
Why did it turn out like this? Eui-jae retraced his memories. It’s not that he hadn’t tried to escape from the house. But whenever he tried to slip out of the house, Lee Sa-young would find him like a ghost from somewhere.
Eui-jae glanced toward the bathroom and put on his mask. And just as he was tiptoeing to the front door and about to grab the doorknob.
“Hyung.”
A voice was heard from beyond the door. Yes, just like now.
‘Fucking hell, does he have a radar attached?’
Eui-jae took off his mask slightly and replied.
“Uh, yeah?”
“Bae Won-woo is coming up, so you’re wearing a mask.”
“Bae, Bae Won-woo-ssi is? Why?”
“Well, it’s obvious without looking…. Something must have happened.”
Was he drying his hair? The sound of him shaking his wet hair with a towel was heard. At that moment, Eui-jae’s intuition began to work unwillingly. Something that would make Bae Won-woo come to his house in person. What flashed through his mind was… the headline of the article.
「The Intimate Relationship Between 1st and 2nd Place」
Eui-jae readjusted his mask. Okay, I’ll escape from here right now. I’ll go into some Dungeon until things calm down. Eui-jae, who had made up his mind, threw open the door. And he faced a figure blocking the door like a bear.
“…….”
‘Damn it.’
Bae Won-woo was emaciated, unlike the last time he saw him. He looked around like a zombie, then smiled brightly at J with a fierce face.
“Uhh…? Oh, J-nim!”
‘Fucking hell.’
“You realized I was coming and opened the door for me! I didn’t even ring the bell. Wow, as expected. I can’t beat you. Sa-young is inside, right?”
‘No.’
A wet footstep approached from behind. Lee Sa-young was approaching, tying the belt of his bathrobe. He stood right behind Eui-jae and raised his right eyebrow.
“What…. You’re already here? How long has it been since I contacted you?”
“I can’t help it. This is a bit urgent.”
A mixture of sweet scent and fragrant scent wafted. Sa-young put his arm around Eui-jae’s shoulder and pulled him toward him. Why did his arm feel like a shackle today?
Bae Won-woo was holding a newspaper in his hand. At a glance, the words 1st place and 2nd place could be seen. Bae Won-woo, who had a good-natured smile, entered the front door and said.
“Ah, right. J-nim heard this news from Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo Hunter, right?”
Before Eui-jae could speak, Lee Sa-young interjected.
“What news?”
“Ah… it’s nothing much, but a photo of J-nim carrying you in his arms was published as an article.”
“…What?”
Sa-young, who had narrowed his eyes, took the newspaper. Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young. As the purple eyes scanned the newspaper, the lips, which were flushed from just having showered, were beautifully curved. The purple eyes also narrowed, drawing a curve.
“Heung…….”
“…….”
The tips of his feet, which were not completely dry, nudged Eui-jae’s heels. Eui-jae flinched. The prominent ankle bones touched and rubbed against each other. A voice full of pleasure murmured.
“I didn’t know you carried me like this…?”