187 – HGL 187

187

Isn’t the nuance of his words a bit ambiguous? Eui-jae took a step back and retorted with a sullen expression.

“Left the house… you’re talking weird? It was your house from the start. It was strange that I was there.”

“Why…”

Sa-young crossed his arms and tilted his head. He let out a sigh as if for someone to hear. A restless air was visible in his fingers tapping his arm.

“What, did you sleep on the ground for the past three months? You didn’t….”

“What?”

“You said you lived in our house for three months. Isn’t that living together?”

“No, that was unavoidable. Temporary. Like cohabitation for nursing care.”

“Uh-huh…. Is that so?”

His purple eyes shone brightly. The energy was unusual. Now that he looked, his eyes were completely gone. He was a bit off to begin with, but this was the first time he looked this crazy. It had only been a week since they were apart, but he felt as sensitive as a long-starved beast. Enough to make him a little chilly.

Eui-jae blinked.

‘Something’s wrong….’

He’s the guy who waited endlessly for a dead person to return. For eight years. Has his patience run out now that he’s waited that long?

‘No….’

Lee Sa-young wouldn’t do that. He was sure of that much. Lee Sa-young was always the person who would wait for Cha Eui-jae. In other words, Lee Sa-young is not normal right now.

‘Is it the influence of another Lee Sa-young?’

The image of Lee Sa-young shedding tears and getting annoyed flashed through his mind. Did he lose control of his body like then? But his mind seems to be the Sa-young I know. While Eui-jae was deducing the cause, Sa-young blinked. He spat out in a cold tone.

“Why, do I have to collapse again for you to come?”

“Is this guy crazy? Hey!”

Eui-jae shouted without realizing it, then turned around abruptly. At this distance, Ham Seok-jeong in the Director’s office could have overheard the conversation. Lee Sa-young should know that much. Eui-jae glanced at Sa-young. He was staring intently at Eui-jae. He didn’t seem to care about the Director’s office.

Sa-young retorted brusquely.

“Not ‘Hey,’ Lee Sa-young.”

“That’s not important right now…. Ha.”

Eui-jae ruffled his hair roughly, then grabbed Sa-young’s arm. Then he lowered his voice and whispered.

“Anyway, don’t you ever say that kind of bullshit again.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll make sure you can’t say bullshit again.”

“How?”

“What do you mean how? I’m going to physically shut your mouth. Hey, no…. Come on, Lee Sa-young.”

When he pulled his arm, the large body followed obediently. The crazy eyes and the fierce energy subsided a little. Sa-young asked.

“Where are we going?”

“If we talk here, the Director will hear everything. Let’s go somewhere else and finish talking.”

He tightened his grip on the arm he was holding. The foot climbing the stairs also stopped. Lee Sa-young stood there like a stone statue. His purple eyes glared at Eui-jae as if accusing him.

“Is the Director important right now?”

“You’re important, so let’s go, come on!”

“More than me?”

Eui-jae was about to retort, but he closed his mouth. Of course, the Director is also important… but he couldn’t deny the feeling that was leaning towards Lee Sa-young. But he didn’t want to say those words out loud. He wasn’t ready to say such things yet. Eui-jae instead spat out brusquely.

“Why are you suddenly like this? You weren’t like this before.”

“Don’t change the subject and answer. Is the Director more important than me?”

‘This is driving me crazy.’

As the words continued, the desire to shut Lee Sa-young’s mouth, to the point of knocking him out, grew stronger. On the other hand, Sa-young standing there sullenly, strangely… looked cute.

Huh?

Eui-jae widened his eyes and carefully examined Sa-young up and down. Gas mask, black coat, arms crossed, the dark Lee Sa-young standing like a totem pole looked cute. Even though he was wearing a Gas mask!

‘Am I crazy?’

Eui-jae was shocked. Not only did his heart race every time he saw Lee Sa-young, but now the fierce Gas mask looked cute. It was serious. It was severe.

‘Ah, FUCK. I think I’m really screwed?’

While Eui-jae was running a dry wash over his face above the mask, Sa-young, who still hadn’t received an answer, frowned.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Just a moment. Let me think.”

“What to think about. Is this even a question that needs thinking?”

“Ah, just wait.”

This level of whining is cute. Eui-jae patted Sa-young’s arm soothingly and racked his brain. Lee Sa-young’s behavior right now was similar to Ha-eun’s whining when things didn’t go her way. Maybe he’s expressing the anxiety that comes from losing control like this….

‘Wait, loss of control?’

The fact that he lost control means that another Lee Sa-young is influencing Sa-young’s body. It also means that a Soul that is usually asleep is awake, or that the two Souls are mixed. In that case….

‘Let’s sleep together.’

‘Can you strangle me a little more? This is nice….’

Doesn’t that mean I don’t have to sleep next to that pervert? Because there’s Lee Sa-young inside Lee Sa-young?

His vision brightened as if a light bulb had turned on in his head. Eui-jae admired his brain and raised the corners of his mouth to smile.

They say you can live if you keep your wits about you even when you enter a tiger’s den. He couldn’t miss this opportunity. He didn’t want to lie next to a pervert who asked him to strangle him! He’d rather lie next to Sa-young and endure his heart pounding, cold sweats, his mind stirring, and his stomach churning. Enduring was Cha Eui-jae’s specialty.

He felt sorry for Sa-young, but he had to proceed when he lost control and wasn’t in his right mind, but when the other Lee Sa-young didn’t take the lead. Right now!

Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

Sa-young glared at Eui-jae with suspicious eyes.

“…Where suddenly?”

“My house. Do you have a Hong Ye-seong Scroll?”

“My house? Hyung’s house? …Suddenly?”

“Do you have it or not? If you do, take out one.”

Eui-jae suddenly reached out and rummaged through Sa-young’s coat pocket. There was only a cell phone in his pocket. Sa-young grabbed Eui-jae’s wrist. He snapped irritably.

“What are you doing all of a sudden? Are you trying to change the subject again….”

However, Eui-jae was quicker to intervene than Sa-young was to finish his sentence.

“I’m not changing the subject, I’m trying to introduce you to my house. Aren’t you curious?”

“…….”

The strength in his black hand slowly faded. Good, it’s working. He must be curious. I’m curious too. Eui-jae didn’t miss the small gap and pushed him with words.

“There are things I need to bring from there too. Things I used when I was working. I might even have the clothes I wore when I went to your hospital room. Maybe.”

“…….”

Sa-young sighed softly. Compared to earlier, when he looked like he was going to kill someone, it was a much softer sigh. Eui-jae drove in the wedge.

“If you go now, you’ll be the first visitor in 8 years. How about it?”

The hand that had been holding his wrist fell off. Sa-young silently took out a Scroll from his Inventory and handed it over. Eui-jae held Sa-young’s arm with one hand, held the Scroll with the other, and bit the Scroll with his mouth.

‘To home.’

And tore it.

A cozy scent of fabric softener tickled the tip of his nose. Eui-jae opened his eyes slightly. They were standing in the hallway. It seemed they had moved to the hallway altogether.

Eui-jae stared silently at the middle door installed between the hallway and the living room. The wooden pollack hung in the corner of the middle door was a gift from his aunt. Was it called an exorcism pollack?

‘Did it really ward off evil?’

Beyond the glass of the middle door, the hallway and living room that were faintly visible were exactly the same as he remembered. It felt like he had returned to the past. As if everything he had experienced so far was just a nightmare, and he had finally returned home.

“…….”

But Lee Sa-young is by his side, so it can’t be the past.

Sa-young was waiting quietly for Eui-jae’s actions like an invited guest. When Eui-jae took off his shoes, Sa-young, who was standing next to him, also took off his shoes.

He carefully opened the middle door. Creak, it opens more smoothly than he thought. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the floor connecting the living room and the hallway. Eui-jae moved his steps, suppressing his footsteps for no reason. Footsteps followed right behind him. Soon, the living room came into view.

“…….”

It was the same.

It was the same scenery he had seen when he last left the house. The ivory leather sofa his aunt had chosen, the white curtains, the wooden table, the flowers in the vase his aunt had given him, the dusty TV that he never watched….

No, there was one thing different. Eui-jae picked up a round stone placed in the center of the coffee table and examined it. A blue light flickered on the smooth surface. Sa-young, who was watching from a step behind, said.

“It’s a Preservation Stone.”

“…….”

“It’s something you use in a Dungeon to maintain the condition of food or precious items…. I can’t believe you’d use it in your house.”

“…I didn’t put it there.”

“…….”

“The Director must have left it.”

Eui-jae swallowed hard. With what heart, with what thoughts, did she leave a Preservation Stone in an empty house? Not only his house, but even his aunt’s house. He couldn’t even imagine it. A corner of his heart was tingling. Eui-jae pulled Sa-young’s arm for no reason.

“Come here.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll show you my room.”

“…….”

It seemed like strength had entered Sa-young’s arm. Eui-jae opened the tightly closed door. In the room, there was only a bed and a wardrobe. Even the wrinkles on the neatly folded gray blanket were the same as he remembered. He couldn’t believe he had returned after 8 years. It was like he had just gone on a short trip and returned home.

Eui-jae glanced up at Sa-young standing next to him. In fact, he was glad that Lee Sa-young was there. Because he could quickly realize that 8 years had passed.

Sa-young, who was looking at the desolate room one by one, looked at Eui-jae. His purple eyes shone suspiciously. A strange tension was flowing. Eui-jae took a deep breath. Don’t forget the purpose. He came to test it. He had to fall asleep before Sa-young was free from the influence of ‘Lee Sa-young’. The two of them. Eui-jae called Sa-young in a very friendly tone.

“Sa-young-ah.”

“What is it, Hyung.”

Eui-jae slowly took off the watch he was wearing on his wrist. Purple eyes followed the movement of his hand as if to devour it. Eui-jae took a small breath and spat out resolutely.

“Let’s sleep, us.”

His purple eyes widened and were filled with shock.