By Zephyria 197
“Nonsense, you say.”
Lee Sa-young blinked his lilac eyes a couple of times and replied nonchalantly.
“I was merely conveying a reasonable opinion… You’re the one who dismissed it.”
“Reasonable my ass. It’s the ramblings of a loser…”
“Oh, one misstep and you’ll be a loser too… You’re awfully confident.”
“Hmph… You’re already thinking of running away without even trying…?”
Sa-young subtly covered his mouth with his hand. A slight upturn of his lips was visible beyond his hand.
“My, what a strong sense of victimhood.”
A slight crack appeared on his face, which had been expressionless. Words as sharp as daggers flew back and forth without pause. Their voices were so similar that it was as if one person was continuing the conversation. Why does it feel like my mental strength is being drained? Eui-jae touched his forehead and began to retrace his steps to figure out where things had gone wrong.
“Judging by how you wag your tongue…”
“Who’s talking about whose tongue?”
In the meantime, the two Lee Sa-youngs, who had simultaneously snorted, looked at each other. It felt like sparks were flying between their clashing gazes. Veins bulged on his dark hands, strength entered his arms, and it was obvious that he was gripping the handle of his fang.
Damn it. Eui-jae frantically waved his hand, snatching their attention to himself.
“Hey, hey. I told you not to fight each other.”
“……”
“Don’t look at each other. Don’t talk to each other. Just look at me. Got it? Pretend there’s no one else next to you.”
Eui-jae regretted saying those words as soon as he uttered them. Because the lilac eyes followed his every move as if they would devour him. Was it just his imagination that he could feel a thick obsession even in their gazes?
‘It’s like I’ve unleashed wild beasts.’
I’m going crazy! Eui-jae sighed and slowly continued.
“Anyway, so… you refused?”
Sa-young replied briefly.
“It wasn’t a story worth listening to.”
“……”
“There’s no need to listen to the words of a loser. It’s not like Doomsday has already arrived, we still have a chance.”
That made sense in its own way. Because there was still a possibility to prevent Doomsday. Just as Eui-jae was about to nod slightly, Lee Sa-young interjected.
“It’s just the arrogance of someone who doesn’t know Doomsday.”
Crack! Something shattered. The edge of the debris Sa-young was sitting on was melting black. Sa-young smiled like an angel and dusted off the white crumbs on his hand.
“Sorry? I keep hearing bullshit from somewhere.”
“……”
“Doomsday this, Doomsday that, I keep hearing sounds like a scared dog barking…”
“Okay, stop!”
Eui-jae quickly came to a conclusion. This tension and discomfort would only disappear if he quickly dealt with this three-way meeting! Strike while the iron is hot. Eui-jae raised his voice slightly.
“Okay, then let’s say that first one fell through. What about when you came to the Bureau of Rift Management?”
“Ah, that time…”
Sa-young narrowed his lilac eyes and smiled.
“My patience was pretty much worn thin? Living for a week listening to nothing but nonsense.”
A finger with a black tip tapped his temple.
“I thought I was going crazy…”
Eui-jae, the one who caused it, slyly avoided his gaze. Sa-young covered his cheek with his palm and let out a deep sigh.
“And then Hyung started talking about sleeping with me. To me, who’s not in his right mind. So…”
“Hey!”
Eui-jae hurriedly covered Sa-young’s mouth. And as soon as he sensed something, he nimbly took his hand away. A black tongue, peeking out between his lips, licked his lips as if regretful.
“Why? I was just stating the facts.”
‘Lee Sa-young,’ who had been quietly watching, tilted his head. His light purple eyes, devoid of light, blinked as if to show off.
“I’m starting to hear bullshit too… If you’re going to bark at a dog, can you tell him to bark quickly?”
Haa, Sa-young, who sighed, twisted his lips. And opened his mouth—
“Woof.”
He barked. Sa-young grinned at Eui-jae’s shocked face.
“Okay? Let’s continue.”
Eui-jae screamed inwardly. What was okay! One Sa-young was already overwhelming, but two Sa-youngs were about five times more overwhelming. Moreover, Eui-jae’s insides were burning up because of the war of nerves the two were waging. Regardless, Sa-young continued slowly.
“Anyway, I wasn’t in my right mind either… so I ended up coming in here without any preparation. Originally, I had the initiative, but this place…”
Sa-young pointed to the side with his chin.
“The dog next door has the initiative. The contract was concluded without even a chance to refuse.”
Lee Sa-young barely managed to put on something that resembled a smile on his expressionless face.
“It would be right to say that I seized the opportunity without missing it.”
Eui-jae interrupted and asked the moment Sa-young was about to get annoyed again.
“What are the terms of the contract?”
“That bastard meets with Hyung alone and persuades Hyung… Well, I didn’t expect it to be in this form.”
“This form?”
“Hyung himself…”
Ah.
Sa-young trailed off. Then, as if he didn’t want to say any more, he turned his head away. The light purple eyes, barely visible through his disheveled hair, were sunken black.
Eui-jae barely calmed his churning heart. Just because he understood his choice didn’t mean there were no scars left. There were times when his head understood, but his heart couldn’t. Regret remained like an afterimage.
‘I should have done it where he couldn’t see.’
It was a regret that Sa-young would have been angry about if he had known.
Instead of Sa-young, who had closed his mouth, ‘Lee Sa-young’ opened his mouth.
“Actually, I didn’t think you would choose such a method either. Really.”
“……”
“I didn’t even think of making you come all the way here.”
“……”
“I should say you know my weaknesses well. Or should I say you’re J after all…”
A hand, stained black to the wrist, rested on the debris he was sitting on. At that moment, he felt a tremendous pressure anew. It was incomparable to any Monster he had faced. He could instinctively tell.
‘He’s not human…’
But that didn’t mean he had become a Monster either. The being in front of him was wearing the shell of a human, but he was closer to a wraith entangled with obsessions and thoughts. But he was also a being who could communicate. Eui-jae had clearly seen it. The light purple eyes, which had regained a human-like light, at the moment he promised.
“……”
He turns his head. Sa-young was still looking elsewhere. The red bloodstains on his bloodless cheeks were still vivid. He recalls the last face he saw through the pouring blood and flickering vision. A vacant face. Like someone who had lost everything.
No, maybe he had lost everything at that moment. Cha Eui-jae was Lee Sa-young’s….
“……”
Lee Sa-young was his first success. Even after crossing three worlds and facing two Doomsdays, that alone had not changed. His success was sitting side by side. And Cha Eui-jae had a duty to take responsibility for his success.
He chose his words on what to say. But it seemed to take too long to refine so many emotions into words. In the first place, thinking for a long time didn’t suit Cha Eui-jae. He always moved his body first.
Eui-jae spread his arms wide. And bent down—
“…Huh?”
He hugged the two Lee Sa-youngs at once. Thud, Lee Sa-young’s and Sa-young’s shoulders touched, and two large bodies stiffened in his arms. The cold bodies warmed up lukewarmly with Eui-jae’s body temperature. A sweet scent stung his nose.
After a while, Sa-young, who came to his senses first, frowned and tilted his head back.
“Wait… what are you doing right now?”
“Apology.”
Sa-young’s eyes widened.
“…What did you say?”
“I’m sorry. You were very surprised earlier. Both of you.”
The bodies full in his arms stiffened. A small sigh, whose it was he didn’t know, seemed to escape. Eui-jae continued stubbornly.
“You might think what’s with the sudden apology… but still. I felt like I had to.”
“……”
Someone carefully rested their chin and cheek on Eui-jae’s shoulder and neck. There were also hands wrapping around his waist. Eui-jae easily endured the weight of the two people leaning on him. And he swallowed the words he was about to say.
‘If, by any chance, this situation comes again in the future….’
Cha Eui-jae will do it. He will stab his body with a knife without hesitation. Even a very short hesitation is a luxury for a hero.
However.
Cha Eui-jae had come to know the preciousness of the warmth clinging to him. From now on, before he stabs his body with a knife, a very small hesitation will arise.
And….
‘You can do as you please. Because you have hesitation.’
He was certain that he would not miss that hesitation. If it was Lee Sa-young.