CH 48

“Huh, are you friends?”

There was no way Cha Soo-yeon, who had good eyesight, could have missed it. Kim Woo-jin grabbed my arm and pulled me with a suspicious look.

“Let’s go now, Han Yi-gyeol. You’re done with your business.”

That’s true.

“Where are you going? Give me your phone.”

“He doesn’t want to give it to you. What an ignorant woman.”

“Whether I’m ignorant or not, who are you to keep interfering?”

“Be, because he’s my friend!”

“What a friend. If you’re going to lie, do it right.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. Why did this happen?

“Both of you, stop.”

“But this woman!”

“This person keeps picking a fight!”

In the end, it was my responsibility to manage the flow.

“Be quiet, Kim Woo-jin. When did I say you can step in? Unleash your abilities at will.”

“That…”

“Cha Soo-yeon-ssi. I can’t give you the number right now due to circumstances. I will pass on the business through him.”

“If it’s him…”

Cha Soo-yeon, who immediately recognized what I meant, made a displeased face.

“Maybe the situation is… Is it because of him?”

“Pardon?”

What is this again?

“I didn’t see you like that, but I guess you think that it would severe your lover? You can’t even save a girl’s number.” (그렇게 안 봤는데 애인 단속이 심한 편인가 봐?, I’m not sure about this but we could see for sure that Soo-yeon misunderstood Tae-hoon as Yi-gyeol’s lover here)

“Yes…?”

My mind went blank at the unexpected words. Kim Woo-jin, who was listening to Cha Soo-yeon with me, asked with an annoyed voice.

“What is that woman saying now?”

It was then that I remembered what happened in the Roheon Guild hospital room that I had forgotten. Don’t tell me the misunderstanding was still…

“Really, it’s ridiculous. Isn’t that what you meant to ask for a number?”

“No, I know that. I know.”

“Ugh… I’m totally caught up. I see.”

“So this is a misunderstanding…”

Before I could finish my words, Cha Soo-yeon turned her back to her team. (팩하니, I don’t understand this but I think it’s her team or her pack)

“First of all, I have a schedule today, so I will go first. If there’s anything else, he will do it! Contact me through him.”

“Now, wait a minute…”

At the last words with sharp thorns, Cha Soo-yeon left me without any regrets.

I looked at Cha Soo-yeon, who had gone away before I could even clear up the misunderstanding, but Kim Woo-jin opened his mouth in a harshly low voice from behind.

“Lover?”

“……”

I was having a hard time figuring out where to start solving this situation.

* * *

After that, I returned to the room on the 23rd floor and had to suffer from Kim Woo-jin for over a day. Kim Woo-jin treated me with a very distrustful face.

“So who is the lover she was talking about?”

“It is not a lover…”

“What does that woman mean, then?”

“I mean, it’s a misunderstanding…”

“What happened to make such a misunderstanding?”

“……”

Unfortunately, the questions Kim Woo-jin asked were only vaguely answered. I was so embarrassed that I just scratched my cheek. In the end, there was only one answer I could give.

“Anyway, it’s a misunderstanding.”

“……”

Kim Woo-jin looked at me like a traitor. At this point, I was rather curious.

‘No, what if I had a real lover?’

Of course, I don’t need a lover, but anyway.

Even if I said it was a misunderstanding, they wouldn’t believe me, so there was nothing more I could do. As my expression grew sour in real-time, Kim Woo-jin gently lowered his sharp eyes and started making excuses.

“No, it’s not that I don’t believe you…”

You don’t believe it, do you?

“It’s just, I…”

“That’s enough. Think as you please.”

I gave up trying to make him understand and got up. I was going to eat something simple and wash, but Kim Woo-jin grabbed my wrist.

“That’s so mean…”

“What else?”

Kim Woo-jin looked up at me with a gloomy face. It was as if he had done nothing wrong, but his eyes were full of unfairness as if I had scolded him.

“I took you home too and told you all the past I wanted to hide.”

“Ya, that’s…”

“You just hide it from me. Do you still hate me?”

I think I’ve heard this word before.

“Son of a bitch…”

Kim Woo-jin bowed his head, muttering a curse in a melancholy voice.

Are you crying? I sighed and lifted Kim Woo-jin’s chin up.

I looked closely at Kim Woo-jin’s face, who was bewildered by my actions. Well, fortunately, he didn’t cry.

“I am really sorry. Kim Woo-jin, can’t you believe me?”

“Uh? No… I, I believe you.”

Kim Woo-jin’s expression in answering was somewhat dazed.

“I’ll tell you later when the situation is settled. Then that’s okay. Trust me now that I don’t have a lover.”

“Uh, uh…”

When I spoke softly as if to appease an adolescent child, Kim Woo-jin nodded his head, saying that he would understand. It was like this from the beginning. Kim Woo-jin looked like a high school student in his prime in many ways. Sensitive, emotional, and such.

‘I think it’s because I’ve been living alone for a long time.’

Maybe it was because I had the same experience, so it was hard to put it down.

When he let go of his chin, Kim Woo-jin covered his blushing face with his hand. Yeah, I’m sure you think you should be ashamed of your whining behaviour.

“Are, are you going to tell me later? The first thing to me?”

“Yeah.”

I don’t know when it will be, but.

I retorted without sincerity and recalled Ha Tae-heon’s cell phone hidden under the mattress. Come to think of it, I thought it was time to get in touch. I have to tell him the price…

“…aren’t you hungry? What would you like me to make?”

Kim Woo-jin pointed to the kitchen and asked if he liked my answer. Even if it wasn’t, I was about to go out, so I accepted it.

“Something simple to fill your stomach.”

“I see.”

I looked at Kim Woo-jin’s back as he walked towards the kitchen with joy. That guy, I don’t know about anything else, but he’s pretty good at cooking.

* * *

The next afternoon, a call came from Cheon Sa-yeon. When I went up to the representative room, there were Cheon Sa-yeon looking out the window in a black suit and Woo Seo-hyuk standing with a document.

“You look very busy.”

As Woo Seo-hyuk was watching, I opened the door with respect instead of half-talk, and Cheon Sa-yeon turned to me and shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s true. It’s the first time I’ve been busy at this time.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s always been boring, but this time it’s not, so it’s good.”

So what are you talking about?

Cheon Sa-yeon sat down and beckoned to the sofa opposite him. As I sat down on the sofa, Woo Seo-hyuk approached and handed me the papers.

“It turned out that abnormal movement was detected at the gate not only in Korea but also around the world.”

“Do they have anything in common?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.”

I opened the papers. There, the gates included in Seoul were listed by section.

“You can’t check it from outside, so you’ll have to go inside.”

“Is this a list of gates that need to be cleared?”

“Yeah, just half of the gates in Seoul. I’m planning to clear half of the gates within two months. The other half will be dealt with later.”

“It’s neat.”

Cheon Sa-yeon slowly crossed his legs and looked at me. Why are you looking at me like that again? Cheon Sa-yeon said with his eyes fixed on me.

“Woo Seo-hyuk, leave for a moment.”

“Yes.”

After a brief silence, Woo Seo-hyuk left the representative office. Click. With the sound of the door closing, a quiet silence came.

“Han Yi-gyeol.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who opened his eyes slowly, opened his mouth first.

“There is something I need to point out at this point.”

He was still smiling, but the atmosphere was different. I answered calmly, trying to avoid the growing tired eyebrows.

“Say it.”

“How far are you planning to intervene?”

“……”

Intervention. I put the papers I was holding down on the table. Intuitively, I felt that there was something else that Cheon Sa-yeon wanted to say.

“That will depend on the situation.”

“That’s not the right answer.”

I swallowed a sigh.

“I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days. About why you care about the gate.”

“……”

“Isn’t that right? You’re just an independent A-rank talented person, but the fact that you’re paying so much attention to the fact that the gate has changed. As far as entering the gate directly.”

“…you have too many useless interests in me.”

Cheon Sa-yeon’s black eyes turned to me. It was a calm, yet ruthless look.

“Aren’t you expecting me to notice anyway?”

That’s true, I didn’t think you’d ask me like this.

“Tell me, Han Yi-gyeol.”

Cheon Sa-yeon demanded firmly, perhaps noticing my attitude of trying to get over it.

“As long as we are partners, we need to know what is important.”

“I want to end the partnership.”

“Oh, my.”

He laughed briefly. It seemed regrettable at first glance, but we both knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it. It was also true that no matter how difficult Cheon Sa-yeon was, the information he brought was necessary.

“…it’s not great.”

I struggled with how to organize it and explain it. He’s not a good opponent to pass like Kim Woo-jin.

“I’m just guessing.”

“If you guess… Is the gate the cause of the strange thing?”

Tsk. I clicked my tongue. As expected, you knew everything. You have a really dirty personality.

“Okay, I think I’m the cause.”

“The reason is?”

“I accidentally touched something I shouldn’t have touched.”

An SS-grade coat that was taken out three months earlier. An unidentified S+ grade monster awakened in the process. Immediately after that, a monster exploded from the gate of the C13 Area, so the timing was perfect.

‘Is that really a coincidence?’

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was lost in thought, tapped his finger on the knee at my words and opened his mouth not long afterwards.

“Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?”

“I know.”

“It looks like that to me.”

What do you mean? When I frowned, Cheon Sa-yeon explained in a relaxed tone.

“Just because you touched something hidden doesn’t me you’re not going to twist this much.”

Hidden? I looked at Cheon Sa-yeon calmly.

If it was someone else, I would have just said it, but I was really concerned because my opponent was Cheon Sa-yeon. Maybe he even noticed about the SS-class coat.

“Don’t beat around the bush, say it clearly.”

“If you are the cause, it’s not because of any action, it’s your existence.”

At those words, one side of my heart became cold. I twisted the corners of my lips and smiled.

“Existence itself.”

“It’s an assumption to the end, but it doesn’t seem like an impossible story. I’m sure you already feel that.”

I lowered my gaze. I couldn’t answer right away.

“It’s fun for me, so I don’t care what the cause is. But I don’t know if others will take it the same way.”

“I’ve never seen such a boring threat before.”

“Threat?”

Cheon Sa-yeon raised the corners of his lips slightly.

“Is it a threat? It’s a kind consolation that you can be honest in front of me.”

“……”

“Han Yi-gyeol.”

He said in a very soft voice.

“I already know that a lot of you have changed. But that’s it. Has anything changed between you and me?”

“That.”

“You are still tied to me, and I am the one who knows you best. More than anything.”

I wanted to deny it right away. But the tightly closed lips were unable to spit out a word.

“You want it.”

“……”

“You hope me to see you as ‘you’, not as Han Yi-gyeol.”

I couldn’t stand it any longer and get up. I forced myself to swallow something that was shaking and opened my mouth.

“Don’t pretend you know. I…”

I… I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Emotions swirled in a complicated way. The desire to grab Cheon Sa-yeon’s collar and shout, and the desire to immediately turn around and run away coexisted.

Cheon Sa-yeon slowly approached me, who was standing still, not knowing what to do. A white, outstretched hand ran across my neck and wrapped around the nape of my neck.

“You don’t have to hide it, Han Yi-gyeol.”

What he said to me was too sweet. It was so sweet that it felt like poison.

“It’s an unavoidable instinct to want to be seen as the perfect you, not as someone else.”

“I never asked for such consideration.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who came one step closer to me, wrapped around my waist. A cold perfume grazed the tip of my nose when I was held in his arms.

“If you just wander around without taking care of yourself, you’ll probably be the first to break down.”

“…it’s funny to hear that from the person who treats me the worst.”

“Oh, my. Were you upset?”

I exhaled a shaky breath. It was very bittersweet to realize how careless I had been.

「You alone have ruined everything.」

A mournful voice ran through my head. A feeling of despair that had been forgotten slowly swallowed up my body.

I was fortunate to be embraced by Cheon Sa-yeon. I didn’t want to show this face to anyone.