By Zephyria 
My heart began to race at a dizzying speed.
The thumping was so loud it felt like a fierce wave was crashing over the white sands of my heart, shaking it violently.
Instead of panic, a ticklish feeling of embarrassment washed over me first.
Whether in my past life or this one, this was the first time I’d received such a serious confession of love.
‘…It’s ticklish.’
It felt as if soft bird feathers were directly stimulating my heart.
I didn’t want to let go of this unsettling yet thrilling feeling.
This, this… at the very least, it couldn’t be seen as mere friendship between comrades.
‘Am I…’
How do I feel about Jae-ha?
Bubbles of foam rose to the surface of my heart.
If I just went a little further, wouldn’t I be able to realize the name of this emotion as well?
Just as I was engulfed in an intense stimulation, as if burned by the light peck Jae-ha gave me.
This unknown emotion.
“Am I…”
Wouldn’t I be able to name it as well?
Seeing my hesitation, Jae-ha smiled, pulling up the corners of his lips.
“It’s okay.”
“Huh?”
“I know it’s a sudden confession for you.”
“…Jae-ha.”
“You don’t have to answer me now. I have no intention of pressing you for an answer to my confession right away.”
Jae-ha was being considerate of me.
He was trying his best to act like it was nothing, to look cool…
‘He’s really nervous.’
The subtle changes in his emotions, which I could pick up as his partner and best friend, were evident on his face.
Even though his face was already as red as the sunset, he was pretending to be calm, but I knew he couldn’t really be okay.
Jae-ha was doing his best to hide his surging emotions so as not to burden me, his longtime crush.
All for my sake.
Because I knew that, I didn’t bother asking Jae-ha the cliché question of whether he was okay.
“…Okay. Alright.”
Because I knew how precious this fragile, delicate pink emotion he had offered me was to him.
Because I wanted the person who wanted to offer me that heart to come to me again.
So I smiled, following Jae-ha’s lead. I leaned comfortably against him in the same embrace.
Jae-ha’s shoulders twitched slightly at that. I didn’t care and buried my head in his chest.
It was definitely a familiar act that we had done thousands, tens of thousands of times, but this time it felt different.
Was it because the sky was completely dyed red?
The color red had seeped into Jae-ha’s heartbeat as well.
I smiled softly at the loud thumping.
Because even without words, a greater sincerity was heard from Jae-ha’s heart.
Even though it wasn’t the first time Jae-ha had held me and carried me, he stiffened like a log.
“I didn’t originally plan to confess in a Dungeon like this… I need to make a proper confession to save face.”
“What’s wrong with a Dungeon like this?”
“…It’s the worst place to confess. There aren’t any flowers… or anything. I thought I needed to be well-dressed and have my hair styled, not covered in dust and sand… Having the memory of losing you made me impatient.”
Jae-ha stammered, unlike his usual self, and avoided my gaze.
“…Sorry.”
At that moment, we seemed to have returned to being ordinary young people in their twenties.
Like ordinary young people, caught up in the wildfire of love, not knowing what to do.
‘Jae-ha, you’re really nervous.’
Wow. Hyeon Jae-ha, who never showed any fear even when facing the strongest and most ferocious monsters.
He was so weak in the face of love, his face flushed red.
Jae-ha’s vulnerable side that only I could see.
I almost burst out laughing at that sight, but I desperately pinched my thigh to hold it back.
‘If I say he’s cute, his face might turn even redder and explode.’
Even though I knew that the head of Jae-ha, the strongest Esper I knew, wouldn’t explode that easily, I swallowed it down.
Instead, I smiled brightly and rubbed my cheek against Jae-ha’s chest.
“Okay, I understand.”
“……!”
“I’ll be waiting. For your proper confession.”
Actually, I didn’t care when or where you confessed.
I felt certain that even in a worse battlefield, covered in monster fluids and looking unsightly with wounds, my heart wouldn’t be any different.
‘I… like Jae-ha.’
Even if it was difficult to conclude with a single word like “love.”
I wanted to keep being with you, I wanted to see your smiling face forever, and I didn’t want to see you sad…
Even I, who didn’t know much about ticklish and difficult emotions, could tell that this meant I liked Jae-ha with romantic feelings.
As soon as I realized it, my chest felt heavy and stiff, as if a large weight had been hung on it.
Potato couldn’t hide the silly smile leaking out from inside my pocket and teased me.
[Oleolee kolleelee~ An Ga-hyeon likes Hyeon Jae-ha~~!]
‘…Shut up. Be quiet.’
[Hehe. I knew that you guys would connect someday.]
‘I haven’t given a definite answer yet? Jae-ha also postponed the answer until later, you know?’
[Oh, really? Then when will the next confession be? Will he prepare a passionate bouquet of red roses and give it to you then? It’s so exciting. Hehe, it’ll be fun. It’ll be very fun.]
Potato was so excited, as if my love life was some popular TV show, and was waiting for that day.
‘Sigh. Never mind.’
But I was curious as well.
I was held by Jae-ha as we escaped through the huge gap we had made in the ceiling.
Instead of the strange red sky, I stared blankly at the blue sky again.
‘…I wonder how Jae-ha will act during the next confession.’
I was a little excited.
‘Whenever, wherever you do it, my answer will probably be…’
Decided.
I would never forget this half-awakened heart, even if I died.
As we exited the Dungeon, I could see our comrades standing below like beans.
“Captain-!”
“Ga-hyeon!”
“Ga-hyeon Hyung! You’re safe!”
I gave them a reassuring smile.
“We’re okay! We’re fine!”
As I waved my hand, my comrades sighed in relief.
Although it was a day when we should have been disappointed for falling into Ban No-ah’s trap and missing him.
Paradoxically, it was also a day when my heart was filled with warmth and pleasant excitement.
‘I’m glad I came back to life.’
I was able to be with the people I loved at this moment.
After reorganizing our ranks, we decided to go after Ban No-ah again.
“That guy has an ambition to become a god and rule over people, so it won’t end like this.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, the advantage of this situation was that Ban No-ah was under the illusion that we were trapped in the transformed Dungeon and waiting to die.
Geum Na-ro raised his hand to my opinion.
“Ban No-ah isn’t stupid, so if he finds out that the red gem he lost to Guide An Ga-hyeon was an Ability that made it easy to escape, won’t he run away?”
Jae-ha answered that question instead.
“Ban No-ah won’t run away this time.”
“Why is that?”
“Just like we came out of the shadows, he also revealed all of his ambitions to us. Even if he realizes that his plan to trap us in the Dungeon and starve us to death has failed, he won’t stop.”
I also had the same thought as Jae-ha.
“That’s right. What’s there to hide when we’ve already revealed all our cards? From now on, it’s a chicken game where one of us has to die.”
Geum Na-ro’s expression became serious.
“That means… there’s a good chance that Ban No-ah will attack us again as soon as he finds out that the Dungeon has been destroyed.”
“Probably. We’re the biggest obstacle to Ban No-ah achieving the world he wants.”
A god must not have flaws.
‘At least that’s what Ban No-ah would be thinking.’
So he would have wanted to get rid of the White Tiger Unit and me, who were constantly getting in his way, all at once.
Just like he had laundered himself and lived with different faces and identities for 20 years.
There must be an obsession that there should be no filth or flaws in the path of the man who would become a god.
‘Ban No-ah is quite obsessed with Abilities. Especially strong Abilities.’
This suggested that he had a great inferiority complex towards Ability Users.
‘I don’t know what Ban No-ah’s physical weakness is, but I know that his mental weakness is an inferiority complex.’
We had to chase after him quickly.
We had a better chance of winning if we ambushed him before he realized we were alive.
‘We also need to find out what functions the other two red orbs have.’
It was then.
Samoa lowered his body and emitted a light green energy from his pupils.
It meant he was using his skill.
“Captain, Management Bureau employees are approaching our vicinity.”