CH 185

“…no. It’s okay.”

A low voice was heard over the hazy consciousness. When Cheon Sa-yeon, who opened his eyes slowly, turned his head, he saw Ha Tae-heon talking on the phone while looking out the window.

[You’re not fighting or something, are you?]

“It’s really nothing happened.”

[Yeah, then I’m glad.]

Lee Joo-ha’s worried voice came out of the cell phone. Cheon Sa-yeon, who knew what they were talking about, raised his upper body and ran his hand across the back of his hair.

[It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that… because the opponent is…]

“Yes. I know what you mean.”

[Even if it’s cumbersome, come back after meeting Center Head Choi Mi-jin.]

“I understand.”

After finishing the call, Ha Tae-heon turned his gaze to Cheon Sa-yeon. Facing that blunt face, Cheon Sa-yeon asked.

“How much time has passed?”

“About an hour and a half.”

Um, Cheon Sa-yeon slowly blinked his eyes. He slept longer than expected.

‘Well… I can’t help it.’

He thought that Elohim would come, so he set a short sleep time, but an unexpected person came to him.

Meeting Han Yi-gyeol was more important than the meeting. Even if it was a meeting anyway, all they would nag about finding Kang Seung-geon.

“Now I want to hear an explanation.”

Ha Tae-heon, who rarely uttered a single word with a twisted expression, sat down on the opposite sofa and folded his arms. Attendance at the meeting had already gone, and Cheon Sa-yeon smiled as he tugged loosely the tie that had been tied to the end of his neck.

“I’m sorry. I have to sleep for some reason.”

“Are you going to end the explanation with that?”

“If you’re curious as to why I had to sleep, of course, I’ll explain in detail. I promised to answer one thing when I woke up.”

When asked what he would choose, Ha Tae-heon wrinkled his brow angrily. Seeing this, Cheon Sa-yeon was conflicted for a moment.

‘I heard that he met Han Yi-gyeol…’

Whether to spill or not. If he used Han Yi-gyeol as bait, he would definitely ask how they met.

If that was the case, he might be able to turn off one question, but…

“Relationships that use each other. Is that enough, Cheon Sa-yeon?”

“……”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was touching the corner of his mouth, finally sighed and swallowed Han Yi-gyeol’s name. While he was pondering, Ha Tae-heon, who had finished his thoughts, opened his mouth.

“What do you know about the Praus?”

* * *

“Good job.”

Even after the dream with Cheon Sa-yeon ended, I woke up after sleeping for a full day, and Elohim handed me a glass of water.

“Looking at the bad expression on your face, it seems that the conversation didn’t go well.”

“A little bit.”

I smiled bitterly while receiving the glass.

“Didn’t you expect it.”

“I can’t help being bitter.”

“Cheon Sa-yeon, that child has been alone for too long. Even if he gets help from someone and cooperates, the end result is meaningless in the end, so he’d rather choose to handle it alone.”

“I understand.”

I nodded and drank the water at once. However, even though my thirst was gone, the frustration that weighed on my chest was still there.

“And I didn’t do anything well either. I’m not in a position to question why Cheon Sa-yeon can’t be honest…”

“Just as you understand Cheon Sa-yeon, that child will understand you, Se-hyun-ah.”

Is that really the case? After seeing Han Yi-gyeol’s past, I couldn’t understand what kind of heart Cheon Sa-yeon was dealing with me.

‘Because he hides his insides so well.’

The smile he gave me when he looked at me, the eyes filled with something soft, and the hand that gently grabbed my wrist.

It could all be faked, made up to take advantage of me.

“To Cheon Sa-yeon…”

I opened my mouth as I pondered, fiddling with the empty glass in my hand.

“I was going to ask if I could look at his past.”

“Really?”

“Well, we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re going to use what we’re going to use for each other, so even if he tells us not to see it, we’ll see it. As he is the first party, I think I should talk about it.”

“Ah. That’s what it means.”

Elohim, who had been listening with his face tilted, put on an expression saying that it was true.

“It’s okay not to worry too much about that part, Se-hyun-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Even if you said you would see, Cheon Sa-yeon would have told you to do whatever you wanted to. The child’s past is no longer his own.”

It’s not his own?

“What does it mean?”

“Cheon Sa-yeon passed his past in exchange for a long time ago. Not only the past, but also the possession of future records.”

“Ah…”

“So, no matter how we use it, Cheon Sa-yeon can’t interfere.”

In that explanation, I realized what the ‘price’ Elohim included. Elohim opened his mouth first, leaving me with my head getting complicated.

“Se-hyun-ah, it’s been a long time since you came here.”

“That’s right.”

“How about your dreams?”

“I think… I’m making progress.”

The dream content was always jagged. So it was more difficult. Because I couldn’t even predict what kind of content would eat me.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“It’s nothing.”

After experiencing the terrorist attack in the D45 Area and the attack on the guild management headquarters, I realized how important my intervention ability was.

No matter how painful the dream was, it was the past in the end. To protect the present and the future, I had no choice but to become stronger.

“It was what Cheon Sa-yeon said. It will be quiet for a while. Is it true?”

“Hm. Surely… It looks like Kali’s children won’t come out for a while. They never move in haste. Above all, they will be more careful since they have already failed several times.”

“What about the believers?”

“They are different. It seems that they took the attack on the guild management headquarters as a signal and started their activities… They’re not as dangerous as Kali’s children, though.”

I didn’t know if I should say this was a relief. Elohim, who took the empty glass from me, raised the corners of his mouth slightly before he closed his eyes.

“So, it would be good for you to relax a little too.”

“All right.”

To be honest, it wasn’t me who needed to rest, it was Elohim or Elahah. I smiled bitterly as I looked at Elohim’s face, who was still in a cold sweat with the white cloth covering his eyes.

* * *

Early in the morning, not long after the sun had risen, the employees who were closing the doors bowed to me when I came down to get off work.

“Get home safely, Hyungnim.”

“Yeah. Finish it well.”

“Yes!”

I said my last goodbye to Dong-ju, who was waiting in front of the door, and went out of the building. The night and the early morning of the nightlife that had been swept away by the hectic noise of dawn were bleak.

After thinking about cigarettes for a long time, I was walking to see if I could stop by a nearby convenience store, and a black car parked on the sidewalk started chasing me in line with my stride.

“……?”

What else is this. I had become so sensitive since I had seen so many bad things, and as soon as I frowned, the car window went down, revealing the driver’s face.

“Hello, Hyungnim.”

“Ho.”

Yeon Seon-woo, wearing a denim jacket, smiled brightly and sent me a wink as if seducing a woman. I couldn’t help but laugh disheartenedly at the sight.

“What are you doing at this hour?”

I didn’t expect to see him early in the morning, as he usually came to play late in the afternoon or at night.

“Yesterday, I couldn’t even see your nose.”

“Did you wait for me?”

“You’re kidding me (까분다).”

I clicked my tongue and started moving again. The car moved forward little by little to match my speed.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been here since this morning.”

“I don’t need it. Go back.”

“Go for a drive with me.”

“What go for a drive… I’m going home.”

“Ah, Hyungnim. Let’s go together. Do you know how pretty the flowers have bloomed these days?”

“Aren’t you going to school?”

Are all college students really this free? I had never been to college, so I didn’t know.

“…I don’t have any classes today.”

“Good for you. Have fun and go home.”

I was going to go to a convenience store, but it seemed like it would be difficult for me to stay like this. Suppressing the urge to smoke after a long time, I passed the convenience store and headed to the main street.

“Hyung, how long does it take to get home?”

“What’s the point of knowing it.”

“I will take you home. Just a little bit of driving! If you’re tired, you can sleep next to me.”

“……”

“Hyungnim, please. Can’t you just give me an hour?”

“……”

“Ah, I don’t know. I will keep following you. If you go to the main street, there will be a lot of cars going to work. Either way, I will continue to follow you slowly. I will ignore them even if they honk at me from behind.”

“Ha…”

The more I listened to Yeon Seon-woo’s words, the heavier my tired body sank.

‘I’ve never been like this before… It looks like he really wants to go.’

Maybe it was better to just play quickly until he said he would go and then go home and sleep.

Yeon Seon-woo, who immediately noticed that my heart was slowly leaning, lowered the tip of his eyebrows and looked up at me with an expression like an abandoned puppy.

“Hyuung.”

“…I got it so stop it.”

I sighed and got into the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt. Then Yeon Seon-woo, who had removed his pitiful face in an instant, smiled and started his car.

“You can really sleep.”

“I’ll take care of it, so just focus on driving.”

“Yeees.”

My eyes were a little sore from fatigue, but I wasn’t too tired to sleep while the little boy was driving next to me.

But did he know how to drive? I was very worried. He didn’t get his licence a while ago and drive out excitedly, did he?

“Where is the destination?”

Seeing that he was driving without taking pictures of the navigation system only increased my anxiety. I must never lose my mind.

“We can’t go far because you’re tired… Shall we go see Seongnaecheon Stream?”

“Seongnaecheon Stream?”

“Yes. Near Jamsilnaru Station.” (Here)

“There must be a lot of people.”

“It’s early in the morning, so it’ll be fine.”

“Hmm.”

Seongnaecheon Stream. I had never been there. No, Seongnaecheon or whatever, it was the first time I was offered to go flower viewing since it was spring.

It was definitely spring, so the scenery passing by quickly through the window was quite colourful. It seemed just yesterday that the leaves fell off in the cold winter wind.

“Is an hour enough?”

“Of course.”

If it was Jamsilnaru Station, it wasn’t too far from here…

For some reason, it was suspicious and I looked at Yeon Seon-woo with sharp eyes. After a brief pause in the signal, the guy noticed my gaze and smiled brightly as if he didn’t know anything.

“……”

Seeing that smile, strangely, my doubts melted away. Turning my head first, I leaned my forehead against the car window and thought. Right. I had already ridden it, what could I do? I would just hang in there and play with him for a little while today.