115.
“Aren’t you nervous?”
Jian, who had been studying Sehun’s expression, asked casually. He knew Sehun had never shown signs of nervousness even when facing S-class monsters, but right now his expression was unreadable.
Just as Hyunwoo had mentioned, Sehun’s face looked paler than usual after spending the night satisfying his desires until Jian passed out.
“Not at all. You shouldn’t use your ability, hyung. I’ll take care of everything.”
Sehun glanced up briefly and cautioned in a low voice. Even though Jian had told him his life force had recovered significantly, Sehun was acting as if something terrible would happen if Jian used his ability.
“I won’t overdo it. But if a moment comes when I need to use my strength, I’ll use it right away.”
Jian didn’t want to see Sehun get hurt again. He also wanted to finish this once and for all. In a way, the chairman of the Jeongho Association was the source of all these problems.
If only the precognition ability had been used properly, children who hadn’t even fully blossomed wouldn’t have died, and Sehun wouldn’t have suffered through brutal experiments.
He also wanted to avenge the original owner of this body. Thanks to them, he was now living in a body whose soul had disappeared, so he felt he should at least offer revenge to ease his conscience.
And he also felt responsible for properly concluding things to prevent more children like Yoonjae, this body’s original owner, and Sehun from suffering the same fate.
“…Alright.”
Sehun sighed softly as if he had no choice. Unless he imprisoned Jian and kept him hidden somewhere no one knew about, he couldn’t stop Jian from thinking and acting on his own.
Altruistic behavior was Jian’s essence. Sehun was instinctively drawn to that aspect of Jian that differed from himself, so his job was to protect such a Jian for life.
Imprisoning Jian once was enough. Of course, he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t do it again if Jian ever fell in love with someone else.
“You two are always making a movie whenever you get the chance.”
Hyunwoo shook his head as he watched Jian and Sehun through the rearview mirror. The two had always given him goosebumps when together, but it had gotten worse after their recent crisis.
Even now, despite Hyunwoo and Hyunsu sitting in the front seats, the pair seemed lost in their own world.
The exchanged glances and conversations were so cringe-worthy that Hyunwoo felt goosebumps forming on his arms as he gripped the steering wheel.
“Hyung, just give up. I bet my bank account it’s only going to get worse from here.”
Hyunsu patted Hyunwoo’s shoulder, giving him a look that said to abandon hope. Jian, his ear tips turned bright red, turned his gaze out the window.
“Oh my, look at that. He’s glaring at me like he wants to kill me just because I said something.”
As Sehun cast a cold glance for interrupting their time together, Hyunsu shrugged and joked around.
“We’re almost at our destination, so let’s all focus now.”
It was Hyunwoo who brought order to the chaotic situation. At Hyunwoo’s words, Jian took a deep breath. The end was approaching bit by bit.
This journey was absolutely necessary for a happy ending.
* * *
Under the red sunset, a small village that appeared to have fewer than twenty households came into view. At the entrance to the village was an old village sign that read “Hoga Village.”
The passage of time was clearly visible, with the character “Ho” almost completely faded. Hyunwoo massaged the back of his neck as he looked around.
Even though it wasn’t pitch dark, there was hardly any sign of people.
“The village is incredibly quiet. It feels strange.”
“It does.”
Jian agreed with Hyunwoo’s comment. Judging from the lights on in various places, people did live here, but there wasn’t even a single dog in sight, which would normally be common in rural areas.
“This is the fourth village; I hope we find something here.”
After arriving in Gangwon Province, the group had been examining suspicious locations one by one. Neither Keum Heon-jung nor Researcher Heather, who were currently in custody, knew exactly where the chairman of the Jeongho Association was.
As a result, Jian’s group had to search on foot. Though not even a day had passed, with the help of Hyunwoo’s tracking skill and the artifacts they had brought, they had passed through three villages and reached the entrance of the fourth.
“It looks like the sun will set soon. Should we wrap up for today and look for lodging to spend the night?”
“Good idea.”
They had planned to end today’s pursuit with this village anyway. Since this wasn’t going to be resolved in a day or two, pushing too hard from the start could exhaust them quickly.
“Oh? There’s an inn room over there.”
Hyunsu, who was stretching his stiff body, pointed somewhere with the hiking stick in his hand. On a wooden board about the size of two palms put together, the words “Inn” and “Rooms Available” were written in red letters.
“Then let’s unpack our things there first, and explore the village while getting something to eat.”
Hyunwoo led the way, slinging the hiking backpack they had brought for disguise over his shoulder. Following behind him, Jian quietly activated his skill window.
The unusually quiet atmosphere raised his alertness. Just as he was about to use his skill at the first sign of anything strange, Hyunwoo arrived at the inn first.
“Anyone here?”
Hyunwoo knocked on the tightly closed inn door. Though he didn’t knock hard, the hinged door creaked loudly.
It was impossible to look inside through the glass section at the top of the door because yellowish faded newspapers were stuck all over it.
“Hyung, I’m scared right now.”
Hyunsu shrank his shoulders and stuck close to Hyunwoo. The nape of his neck felt chilly as if the entire village was filled with a gloomy energy, despite it not being particularly cold. Even their thermal hiking clothes were of no use.
Creeeeeak.
“Who is it?”
Just as they were about to ask if they should go somewhere else, the door opened with an unpleasant sound. A hunched elderly woman peered through the gap with wary eyes.
“Ah, hello. We came to hike on the nearby mountain but it got too late. Do you happen to have a room for us to stay tonight? We’re four people.”
Hyunwoo spoke politely with a friendly smile. The old woman’s tense expression gradually softened at his kind face.
“There are rooms, but…”
When the woman showed an ambiguous attitude, Hyunwoo took out his wallet from inside his jacket. As soon as he pulled out ten yellow bills, the old woman’s eyes flashed.
The woman quickly took the money and opened the door wide. Her face looking up at Hyunwoo had become even more gentle than before.
“You’ll stay just one night?”
“Yes. We only need space to lie down and bedding, ma’am.”
“Alright, follow me quickly.”
Hyunwoo was the first to enter the inn, following the old woman who had turned her back. Inside, what appeared to be a counter had a crimson blanket and an old iron stove.
An old TV, so ancient it might be mistaken for an antique, was playing a daily soap opera with a blurry picture quality.
“Here, you can use these two rooms.”
After passing through a space so narrow that only one person could barely walk through, they came upon three doors in a row.
“That room inside has an owner, so don’t worry about it.”
“Yes.”
Hyunwoo’s gaze briefly fell on the inner room. The old woman disappeared, massaging her back with her fist, leaving the four of them alone.
“Then Hyunsu and I will take this room. You two take that one.”
Hyunwoo said as he took off his shoes and stepped up onto the wooden floor. Then he gave Jian a meaningful look.
Jian just nodded silently. From the moment they entered the inn, there had been a strong smell of medicinal herbs.
Mixed with the powerful scent that could make one think this was an herbal medicine shop rather than an inn, there was also a foul smell like rotting flesh.
“Shall we rest inside? I’m exhausted after hiking all day. Let’s meet again in 30 minutes.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Jian opened the closed room door. In the space of about three pyeong (approximately 10 square meters), pink floral pattern bedding was neatly laid out. A small vanity and a non-woven fabric wardrobe occupied one wall, giving the room a homey atmosphere.
Jian tossed his blue hiking backpack onto the slightly musty-smelling floor and headed to the adjacent room with Sehun. Walking on tiptoe with heels raised, he looked exactly like a thief.
When he turned the worn doorknob quietly, Hyunwoo and Hyunsu were already sitting in the room, staring intently at the wall shared with the adjacent room.
“Ah, my joints are aching all over. Hyunsu, let’s just sleep without washing up. It seems we’d have to go outside to wash anyway.”
“Can’t be helped, I guess.”
Understanding Hyunwoo’s signal, Hyunsu responded in a glib voice and flopped down on the floor.
Meanwhile, Hyunwoo took out a sound-blocking artifact from his inventory. When he turned the baseball-like object, a blue barrier formed.
“Something’s strange about the next room, right? The old woman’s expression was odd too. I don’t know who’s there, but she seemed afraid.”
Only after the artifact was activated did Jian plop down on the floor. Though it was just a moment, Jian hadn’t missed the old woman’s strange reaction.
“Right. We should check it out.”
At Hyunwoo’s nod, Hyunsu, who had been lying down, reluctantly got up with a disappointed face.
“You want me to use my x-ray vision, right?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
