Sophie was completely taken aback by his words. Her face froze in a confused, sad expression. She didn't know what to say, and for a moment, the entire world turned into a blurry mess except for the young man standing in front of her.
"What... Why? How would keeping our relationship ruin our lives?" Taking some time to regain her composure, she finally uttered the words she had been looking for.
"You didn't notice it at the time. But, I have noticed it far too clearly. We were both from two completely different worlds. Your career was soaring high and you were slowly achieving your dreams while I was struggling to do anything noteworthy. I felt like I was some kind of dead weight. But, I tried to ignore that hoping I would change." Talon replied with a self-deprecating smile.
"..."
"Guess what? Nothing changed. I was still that same dumb mess of a human being and you were a superstar. I hated myself for thinking that I wasn't worthy of you and yet I couldn't change that thought. All I could do was just swallow that feeling and try to pretend like everything was ok, and things somehow went on."
Closing his eyes for a second, Talon turned around. "When I heard that you had to choose between staying in South Korea or pursuing your career abroad, I was terrified... I was terrified to lose you. I wanted to tell you that I want you to stay. But I..." As Talon was about to finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of realization before he shook his head. "I couldn't do it.
I felt that you leaving was the best option."
The girl blinked in surprise. "That's... Your reason?"
"Yeah... That's the entire reason. If you want me to apologize, I will apologize right here and now. But, as I said, I don't regret doing it at all." Saying that, Talon turned around as he started walking away.
Meanwhile, Sophie stood there silently for a while. Nobody knew what was going through her head.
"Was the choice... that easy?" Eventually, she asked with an unusually calm voice.
"Easy? It was never easy. It felt like I'd lost a good chunk of my soul along with you. But, that is always better than ruining the life of someone I deeply care for." m vl emp yr exclusive
Leaving those words behind, Talon vanished inside the warehouse, leaving Sophie alone to contemplate his words.
What he wasn't aware of was that someone was listening to their conversation in secret.
***
Entering inside, Talon quickly headed to his section of the warehouse where he sat down with a long sigh as he closed his eyes tiredly. Even though he didn't do much that day, he felt as if he exhausted every ounce of energy in his body and mind.
'I went ahead and said it. Perfect, now I'm sure she's going to hold a grudge against me. I was a huge coward for not telling her sooner and trying to run away and pretend like nothing happened.' Running his hand through his hair, Talon clicked his tongue in frustration.
This was a problem that was brewing for years and years and the moment where it exploded came out of nowhere, taking him by surprise. His reunion with Sophie was something he never expected.
As he sat there, deep in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Acrypha floating closer to him silently. Her expression was a little sad since she could feel the sour mood Talon was in. Seeing his smile vanish was something she would never want to see happen to him.
So, without saying a word, she floated closer and closer till she was next to him before she sat down with her shoulder sticking to his. The latter instinctively leaned closer to her without realizing it.
The two sat there, in a rather bizarre and yet oddly comforting atmosphere. One was contemplating his decisions in life at some point and another was simply there for him as he was there for her when she needed him.
"Yeah, I had to pull it up to see if we can actually find a way to kill all the evolved rats that infested it. But, it's far easier said than done. Look here, the sewer systems are extremely complicated and vast. Exploring the entirety of them is like exploring an entire new city. It would take weeks to do that."
Talon stood next to her as he stared at the map silently. In simple terms, the map was a vast net of black lines that connected and disconnected everywhere in a messy yet organized manner at the same time.
"This does look really bad." He murmured as he rubbed his chin. "We can't waste time searching the entirety of the sewer systems. Rats naturally love to live in massive groups so if we can find the heart of that group, we can pull the problem out of its roots." He said.
"But, the question remains, how? Even if we filter the map with the most optimal places a giant group of monstrous rodents would live in, we would still be left with many locations." Hyun-Jae replied.
"Hmm..." Talon hummed and squinted his eyes as he stared at the map silently. His mind analyzed all the possibilities he had at that moment.
'We need a way to reach our goal in the fastest way possible. I know for certain that the rats are the key to that in and out of themselves. If I can somehow make them lead me back to their place... Some way that I can control them...' His eyes wandered around the place casually, till it fell on something.
At that moment, Talon's eyes widened as he was suddenly hit with an idea. Without realizing it, a knowing smile formed on his face.
'Of course, why did I look too far... The answer was right there the entire time!' He mused.
"I think I've found it. A way to find that place quickly. It's quite easy too." He murmured.
Hyun-Jae blinked before she nodded her head. "I was waiting for you to come up with one of your ideas. Hopefully, this one isn't as reckless as the ones before it. So, what is it?"
"Hmm, it's not that hard, trust me. I can do it alone or with one other person at most." He replied. "Any more than that and it could turn out to be a failure."
"Oh, only two people?"
"I think going alone is better but since I know you would be worried, two people are the best choice."
"Glad you're aware that I would be worried." She replied. "So, what's this idea?"
"Mm, excuse me."
At that moment, the two were cut off. Turning around, they saw Sophie standing there. Her expression was oddly calm even though she had just had a very intense conversation with Talon.
But, the latter could easily notice that she wasn't acting normally.
"I heard what you said, Talon, and I would like to request something if you don't mind."
"... What is it?" He asked with a little hesitance.
"Can I go with you?"
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading ??